


Stupid For You

by metaluna



Category: RuPaul's Drag Race RPF
Genre: Coming of Age, F/F, Lesbian AU, Slow Burn, Useless Lesbians, cliche tropes, in which gigi is an absolute simp for crystal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-11
Updated: 2020-09-25
Packaged: 2021-03-06 04:40:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 32,800
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25537462
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/metaluna/pseuds/metaluna
Summary: A cliche lesbian AU. It's the summer before Gigi goes to college, and she decides it's time to take a job at a local amusement park. There, she meets Crystal, a beautiful girl that she with bonds over the anxiety of the service industry. Almost immediately, Gigi gets it BAD for Crystal. Meanwhile, Jackie definitely ISN'T gay. She likes men. Only. Men. What happens when a beautiful girl named Jan comes into the picture? And lastly, Nicky flirts with anything with a pulse. Jaida falls for anyone who gives her attention. This is going to be one interesting summer.
Relationships: Gigi Goode/Crystal Methyd, Jackie Cox/Jan Sport, Nicky Doll/Jaida Essence Hall
Comments: 84
Kudos: 133





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi, loves! I needed to write something less dark than Wasteland, Baby. As much fun as it is writing about the end of the world, I need something a little lighter now and again! This is completely self indulgent. I worked sales and rides at a small amusement park back home while in college, so I'm definitely going to be using stories that have happened to me on the job.

Working at an amusement park the summer before college seemed like such a cliché. But, Gigi needed money, and a job was a job. It was either that, or working in a cafeteria at a performing arts camp, and she wasn’t about to serve chicken nuggets to obnoxious theatre kids all day. Between the two, she figured that working at Paradise Isle would be a much better first job. 

It wasn’t all bad. At least she got to pick what job she wanted. As someone with immense anxiety, the thought of lifeguarding or working rides was out of the question. After hearing horror stories about working custodial and foods from her older sister, she’d settled on sales. Mainly because it was the only thing left to choose from, besides games, but Gigi knew she didn’t have the personality to get people to waste their money on games that were probably impossible to win. 

The night before, Gigi barely slept. She was so nervous about her first job. She looked in the mirror at her tired eyes. While lying awake in bed, she went back in forth in her head on whether or not she should wear makeup, and if she did how much. After looking at herself, she decided a full face was in order. 

After finishing her makeup, she made her way to her closet. Five identical outfits hung next to each other. They were absolutely hideous. No matter how good her makeup skills were, she was going to look ridiculous. The polyester shirt looked like one that the uncle that nobody likes would wear to the family reunion. It was a blue polyester polo shirt that was an obnoxious shade of light blue with palm trees on it. In the corner, it had the logo of the park. The polo did not fit Gigi well, and made her slender frame look like a box. To complete the outfit, the shorts were the same loud color as the collar of the polo. Just like the shirt, the shorts were too big. She tied her belt tightly around her, but she could fit both legs into one leg hole. 

The finishing touch was her name badge. It featured an extremely unflattering photo, Gigi was pretty sure she was about to blink in it. Across the bottom it said GEORGIANA GOODE, SALES. The only people who called her by her full name were her grandparents, and her mom the time she had found her daughter sneaking back into the house one night after a party. 

Gigi laid out the map with directions on her center console. She knew where the park was, she and her sister grew up going ever summer, but the employee areas were a mystery to her. Considering that she had a horrible sense of direction, she wanted to give herself extra time for when she inevitably got lost. 

Eventually, she found her way. She was incredibly thankful that she only had a short walk to the HR office, because that means there was no possible way she could get lost. Once she was inside of the office, a receptionist instructed her to go into the conference room. There were two rows of chairs set up. The chairs looked cold and uncomfortable, the kind that would be found in a grade school classroom. There was an empty chair next to a girl with black hair and brown eyes in the back row. 

“Is this seat taken?” 

The girl gestured for her to sit. 

“I’m Gigi.”

“Jackie.”

“Nice to meet you, Jackie. What’s your job going to be?” 

“Rides. You?”

“Sales.”

“Is this your first summer at good ol’ Paradise Isle?”

“Yeah, it is. How about you?”

“No. This is year three for me.” 

Gigi raised her eyebrows. “So you like it here?”

“Oh, hell no. This place sucks. But, I get a lot of hours and can save money for when I’m at college. That’s what’s keeps most of us here.” Jackie saw Gigi’s nervous expression. “So, the work here is terrible. But, you will meet some of the best people you will find here. There’s nothing like bonding with a group of people over getting yelled at things that are vastly above your pay grade.”

“Jackie!” a voice called. A tall, statuesque girl sat on Jackie’s other side.

“Gigi, this is Jaida. Jaida, this is Gigi. Gigi’s fresh blood. She’s going to be joining you in sales.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” Jaida began. “Listen. I don’t what all my girl Jackie has told you, but this place kinda sucks. But, the people are great.”

“Yeah she mentioned that. Why does this place suck so much?”

“Literally everything,” a voice chimed in. “Get ready to spend all day in the heat getting yelled at about things that aren’t your fault, and management that never has any idea what the hell is going on. It’s hell. I’m Heidi by the way.”

Before the meeting began, Gigi became acclimated with the others in the room with her. She learned Heidi was also returning to games. There was girl who was also new, named Widow who was going to games. Gigi met a girl with a French accent named Nicky who was hired in rides. 

“Brita!” all of the returning workers squealed as a very tall girl entered the room.

“Girls, this is Brita. She is an icon. That’s all you need to know.”

“Jaida, you’re too kind,” Brita said, grasping to imaginary pearls. She continued exchanging pleasantries with all of the veteran workers. 

A bubbly looking blonde enthusiastically made her way into the room, and dramatically plopped next to Gigi. 

“Hi, there! I’m Jan. It’s my first year. I’m going to be in sales!” With the confidence that Jan had walking into the room, Gigi was surprised that it was Jan’s first summer, too. 

“Me, too!”

Jackie awkwardly introduced herself. “Hi. I’m um. I’m Jackie.”

“Hi! Oh my gosh this, is so exciting. I’m just really happy to be here!”

“You won’t be after today,” Brita warned. Jan frowned.

“Don’t scare the poor girl. We all remember our first summer. We were so full of hope… before we were dead inside,” Jaida laughed.

“One last seat. Who’s gonna fill it?” Brita’s voice was full fake wonderment. 

Just as she questioned it, a girl nervously made her way through the door. She had red hair, but Gigi could tell it was dyed. Gigi was surprised the girl got away with it, considering upon getting hired, she had to hire a contract to keep a natural looking appearance. Even though she didn’t think it was possible, this girl looked like she had more makeup on than Gigi did. The girl nervously sat down in the last seat available, the one right in front of Gigi.

“Hi,” Gigi began. “I’m Gigi. Is this your first summer?”

The girl smiled. “Yes! It is! I’m Crystal. I’m games, how about you?”

“Sales.”

Crystal and Gigi got to know each other better. They both had just graduated high school. Crystal had attended Gigi’s rival high school. They had playful banter about the rivalry. It turned out they were both going to attend the same university in the fall. They had just started talking about their majors when a woman entered.

“Hello there, welcome! My name is Michelle Visage, owner of Paradise Isle. I take great pride in this park, as it has been in my family for three generations. I think that this summer is going to be one for the books. We’ve got so many new hires, as well as a lot of familiar faces.”

Gigi zoned out as Michelle went on more about the mission statement of the park. The rest of the orientation was a blur. There were some safety videos, as well as some videos that were borderline propganda showing how great of a workplace it was. In one of the videos, Gigi spotted her sister in the background and smiled.

Once all of the videos were over, Michelle said, “Alright. Trainers, once you find your trainees, take them on a tour. Give them a rundown of the area, and what they’re going to be doing. You all have your training guides so you know what to cover. And again, to all our new hires, welcome!” 

“See ya around,” Crystal said as she got up to join the Heidi and Widow.

Brita and Jaida got up and stood next to Gigi and Jan. 

“Looks like you’re with us. Welcome to hell,” Brtta said with an overdramatic evil laugh. 

“Don’t scare the poor girls! So, I’m going to be training you. The management apparently got really drunk together and decided it would be a good idea to make this one,” she motioned to Brita, “a trainer. That’s why there’s two of us. She’s shadowing me. How do you guys feel about… everything?”

Jan’s smiled so widely it appeared to take up most of her face. “I’m so excited! I used to spend all my summers here with my friends, so it’s kind of full circle to work here this summer.”

“I love the enthusiasm,” Jaida said. “How about you, Gigi, how are you feeling?” 

“Honestly? Nervous.”

“Chile, is this your first job?” She nodded. “Jan?” Jan also nodded.

Jaida comfortingly put her hand on Gigi’s back. “As much shit as we talk about this place, it’s not all bad. You saw how close all of us are. We really are a big family here. Oh, and, between this and serving food to theatre kids all day? This is definitely better.”

“What’s wrong with theatre kids? I’m a theatre kid!” Jan whined. 

“As a fellow theatre kid,” Brita began. “Everything.”

The trainers walked the trainees to the front of the park. Even though Gigi had spent just as much time as Jan, if not more, in the park with her sister growing up, the entire park felt different. The operating season wasn’t going starting for three more days. Because of this, the entire park was eerily quiet, which was a stark contrast to the loud music and screaming children that normally filled the air. 

“Jan, I know you said you used to come here a lot how about you, Gigi?” Brita questioned.

“Oh I used to come here a ton with my older sister. She actually spent her summers between college working here. She did rides, but since she’s five years older than me."

While on the tour, the four girls got to know each other better. Gigi learned that Jaida was studying political science, and that it was the summer before her senior year, meaning it would be her last year at the park. Brtta was going into her junior year. Jan and Brita realized that they were in the same musical theatre program at the same university. 

“What are you going to study, Gigi?” Jan asked.

“Fashion design. My parents wanted me to have something to fall back on, so I’m double majoring in public relations, too.”

“Wow, I could never. I’m just ready to sing and dance my way through college.”

“Turn here,” Jaida instructed, leading them into the staff entrance of one of the shops. 

Once inside, Gigi was surprised that the store already was completely set up. The shirts were neatly folded on tables, and absolutely nothing was out of place.

“This is the only time it’s going to look this nice,” Brita said taking a seat on the floor which caused everyone to follow suit.

Brita explained to Jan and Gigi that there were three stores that they could work at. One was the main store that they were standing in. The second store was a candy shop that sold caramel apples. Lastly, there was the shop where guests could buy their overpriced ride photos. She then went on to explain that at nighttime, there were also carts that sold products that glowed. 

The group then went over to one of the registers. Brita took her time explaining how the POS worked, answering any questions along the way, making sure to reiterate that in order to use a season pass discount, they had to show a photo ID. Gigi thought that it seemed easy enough. Both Jan and Gigi got to practice ringing up fake transactions. 

“Now let’s have some practice. We’re going to roleplay . Jan you’re going first,” Jaida said picking up a shopping basket. She went through the store and haphazardly threw objects into her basket. She came up to the counter.

Brita and Gigi took a step behind Jan as Jaida walked up to the counter.

“Hi! How’s your day in the park going?” Jan asked. 

“It would be going better, if it wasn’t so busy, and everything wasn’t so freakin’ expensive! My babies are both crying in their stroller, and my husband and I haven’t stopped fighting!”

“Oh, I’m so sorry to hear that, ma’am! I hope that your day gets better soon. Oh my gosh, this shirt is so cute it’ll totally bring out your eyes. This is one of my favorites that we have. Your total is going to be 25 dollars.”

“Oh, I have a season pass, so that means I get a discount, right?” 

“Yes! You’ll save twenty percent today. Can I just see your ID with that, please?”

“I don’t have it with me. It’s in the stroller with my worthless husband and my babies.”

“Unfortunately, you need to have one in order to receive the discount.”

“That’s bullshit. I literally just got my discount and no one asked for my ID.”

“I understand that sometimes my fellow hosts don’t follow the rules, but unfortunately, both of us can get in trouble if I give you the discount, and I don’t really think that getting in trouble is worth five dollars, do you?”

Jaida crossed her arms. “I suppose not.”

Brita clapped. “Good job, Jan!” 

“You’re a natural!”

Jan took a fake bow. Brita and Jaida switched positions. Gigi nervously made her way to the register. 

Gigi’s heart was beating fast, even though she knew it was just a roleplay. “Hi.”

Brita raised an eyebrow, and with a pleasant tone said, “Hi! How’s it going?”

“Good.”

Silence. Gigi had no idea what to say or what to do. 

“Uhh. Are you having a good day today?”

She sighed. “I’m really trying to, but The Jinn’s broken. That really stinks because my little Abby is finally tall enough to ride, and she was really looking forward to it.”

“Oh uhh. Sorry. Do you a season pass?”

“What?”

“For the discount?”

“Oh! Yeah, here you go.” Brita flashed Gigi a pass.

Without thinking, Gigi applied the discount. 

“Pause,” Jaida said. “Gigi, you’re a little stiff… But don’t worry about that, it’ll come with time. But you forgot something really important.”

“Shit. I forgot to ask for an ID.”

“And that’s okay,” she said. “Just make sure you don’t forget. The management will let it slide for a while but that’s a fireable offense, so just always keep that in mind. But overall, nice job, you rang up everything perfectly.” 

After a few more roleplay scenarios, Gigi began to feel more comfortable. She was still stiff, but at least she talked more. Still, she was envious of Jan, and how natural it all came to her.

Halfway through the day, it was time for lunch. Jaida and Brita guided the new trainees into the breakroom. Gigi didn’t know what to expect, but she didn’t expect every staff member area to be as dingy and decrepit as it was. The rest of the park was impeccably clean, and she’d assumed that the staff areas would be, as well. 

Once they clocked out for their lunch, Gigi heard her name being called. It was Crystal. 

“Come sit!” 

Gigi made her way to the cold metal table. The chair was extremely uncomfortable, but she it just felt nice to sit. 

“How’s it going?” Gigi asked.

“It’s… going! I’m glad we get more practice. I’m… a little overwhelmed.” Crystal almost looked like she was going to cry. 

“Let’s walk,” Gigi took Crystal’s hand. “What’s up?” 

They took a seat at one of the outdoor picnic tables. No one else was outside, because they were too busy taking advantage of the air conditioning. 

Crystal started tearing up. “I’m just overwhelmed. It’s a lot of information and I feel like Widow is understanding it a lot faster than I am.”

“First off,” Gigi began. “It’s your first day, you aren’t going to be perfect. Second, stop crying. Your makeup is way too pretty for that.”

Crystal smiled. “You think my makeup’s pretty?”

“I think you’re all pretty.”

“Awe, I think you’re gorgeous.” Crystal took Gigi’s hands. “Thank you. For calming me down.”

“Anytime. Also don't beat yourself up. I'm super overwhelmed, too. During training, I did something that would normally get me fired."

Crystal laughed. "You're doing amazing sweetie."

Gigi and Crystal resumed their conversation from earlier. She learned that Crystal was going to study graphic design. They were both excited to move out of their hometowns and to start their lives. Halfway through their conversation, Gigi realized just how pretty Crystal was, and how nicely her hair flowed past her shoulders. And how funny she was, and how nice she smelled. How soft her lips looked… Shit. It was hard to focus on Crystal gushing about why Harry was the best member of One Direction when Gigi could only focus on the girl’s lips. Thankfully, Crystal’s lunch was over.

Gigi had a moment of bravery and pulled out her phone. “Hey Crystal, what’s your number? We should definitely hang out sometime soon!”

“Oh, totally!” Crystal took Gigi’s phone and put her number in. “See you around!”

The contact said “Crystal.” Totally normal. Next to her name was the sparkle emoji and the double pink heart. 

This was enough to send Gigi into a gay panic. The rest of her lunch, Gigi just sat at her table. Unable to touch her sandwich. She decided to text Crystal so that she could have her number.

_Hey girl, it’s Gigi!_

Gigi reread the text seven times, and debated changing it. Did it sound too enthusiastic? In another moment of blind courage, she added the pink sparkly heart after and hit the SEND button. 

Jaida, Brita, and Jan made their way outside.

“Time to go,” Brita announced. 

The rest of the day was a blur. Gigi and Jan were shown the other stores, and some of the products that were carried. They were also shown where the glow carts were, and where they were normally stationed. 

“Tomorrow, we’ll show you guys how to stock. Super easy, hard work but I really enjoy it,” Jaida said as she was walking Jan and Jaida back to the parking lot. 

While getting into her Jeep, Gigi saw a flash of red hair out of the corner of her eye. She looked over and saw Crystal waiting on the curb, on the phone.

“No, it’s okay Mom. I can walk, no big deal! Love you, bye.”

“Hey,” Gigi said driving next to the car. “Need a ride?”

“No, that’s okay! It’s not far!”

“Get in!” 

Once inside her car, Crystal said, “Thank you so much. It’s not far but my feet hurt.”

“Mine too. I couldn’t let you just sit on the curb like that.” Gigi passed Crystal her aux cord.

After methodically scrolling through her phone, Crystal landed on a song. It was a song by One Direction that Gigi wasn’t familiar with. 

“Sorry. I’m a One Direction stan first, and a human second.”

Gigi smiled. God, she was so cute when she sang along to the song. Crystal realized that she was looking at her, and dramatically started serenading Gigi. “Oh! Turn just right up here. I’m the third house.”

“Wow, you do live close. Do you have a car?”

“I don’t… drive,” Crystal admitted sheepishly.

“Well, I can give you rides if you want, it’s really no big deal. It’s on the way home for me, actually!” That was a lie, it was in the complete opposite direction.

“That’d be great! I can pay you in coffee, validation, and love!”

“I’ll take it. Bye, Crystal!”

“Bye, gorgeous!”

Gigi got a text as she pulled out of Crystal’s long driveway.

 _See you tomorrow!_ Followed by the same heart next to her name. 

On the way home, Gigi drove silently. She hadn’t bothered to connect her phone to the aux cord. She was too busy overanalyzing every single interaction she’d had that day. Gigi learned a lot on her first day of training, but the biggest takeaway she had was that she had a crush on Crystal.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's everyone's final day of training, and then the big opening. Everything's going to go smoothly, or so Gigi hopes...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for your positive feedback! Enjoy!

The rest of training was a blur. Brita and Jaida forgot on the first day, but on the second day, they gave their trainees tags that stuck on the bottom of the nametag that said TRAINEE in big block letters, and explained the tradition of dramatically ripping them off upon completing training. Gigi and Jan learned how to stock the shops. Jan decided pretty quickly that it wasn’t for her, mainly because she found out she’d be talking to guests a lot less. Gigi loved that aspect, since she was afraid talking to the guests. She also loved that the stockers got to bounce from store to store throughout the day. There was a lot of freedom, which is something Gigi liked. They were also shown by Brita how to pull products from the case at the candy shop and how to slice the caramel apples. Gigi wasn’t a fan of this, because her apple slices were always uneven, and it was embarrassingly hard for her to pull the sticks out. Of course, Jan excelled at this, just as she did with everything else.

Their last day of training was the day before opening. Every year, the day before opening was a preview for season passholders. This was the day that Jaida and Brita had to assess their trainees and either pass or fail them, depending on how they performed. The day before, they had their stocking assessment. Both Jan and Gigi easily passed. The sales assessment was straightforward. They just had to act like they were already trained, greeting guests, doing transactions, answering questions, all normal things. Except, Jaida and Brita were standing in the background with a clipboard watching them like hawks.

At first, Gigi hid behind the register. She knew that was exactly what she wasn’t supposed to do, but she couldn’t help it. Jan, on the other hand, was actively talking to guests and just being Jan. As soon as she was about to go to the floor, a guest walked up. It was a girl that couldn’t have been more than nine. Brita stood behind Gigi.

“Hi,” Gigi said warmly with a smile. “How are you?”

“Good. How about you?”

“I’m great, thank you so much for asking! What’s your favorite thing you did today?”

The girl smiled. “I did The Genie for the first time today!”

“Oh my goodness, did you get scared?” Gigi’s tone was overenthusiastic, but that was the Paradise Isle way.

“Only a little bit!”

“You know what that means right?”

“No, what?”

“You have to go on The Jinn!”

“I’m going to with my big sister later!”

“Well you’re going to have to come back and tell me how it was! That will be 20 dollars before the discount, can I please see your season pass? Since you definitely aren’t old enough to drive, I just need to see the pass.” The girl held up her pass. “Amazing. After your discount, it’s going to be 16 dollars.”

The girl handed over a twenty, which Gigi appreciated because it was easy math.

She handed the girl her change and said, “Have fun!”

Gigi was shocked at how well she interacted with the little girl. She looked back at Brita who gave her a thumbs up. This gave her the confidence to wander the floor. A guest asked for directions. Thankfully, it was to the bathroom right outside of the store.

After about a half an hour more, Jaida gathered her trainees in the stockroom.

“Ladies,” Jaida began, her tone serious. “I have to say that I’m disappointed.”

Gigi and Jan’s excited facial expressions dropped. Tears began to brim on Jan’s eyes.

“I’m just kidding! Y’all did great. You pass.”

“You rotted bitch,” Brita teased.

“Oh, you know it’s tradition to make the trainees squirm. I expect you to do the same when you get trainees of your own. Jan, Gigi, rip those things off your badges. You’re officially sales hostesses at Paradise Isle.

Gigi smiled as she tore the TRAINEE tag off of her badge.

“Time for lunch!” Brita exclaimed.

….

Jackie hated doing assessments. Because she was a trainer at The Genie, she ended up failing about half of her trainees. Since it was such a safety critical ride, the assessment had to be nearly perfect. While failing trainees didn’t mean they were fired, it meant that they had to do an extra day of training. This made Jackie feel like she was a bad trainer. Thankfully, Nicky caught on fast. Jackie stood behind Nicky as Nicky stood at the console in the tower.

“And how do you ride stop?”

Nicky pointed to a red large button on the console.

“The emergency stop?”

Nicky pointed to a raised red button with a yellow square around it.

“Why would you rather ride stop than emergency stop?”

“Because emergency stopping cuts the power, and we have to call maintenance.”

“Perfect. How old do kids have to be to ride by themselves?”

“They have to be eight years old, and if they’re under they have to be accompanied by someone who is at least fourteen.”

“Look at you! Alright, so we’re getting our first guests for the day. I always offer, do you want to do the easy stuff first or the hard stuff?”

“Let’s get the hard stuff out of the way.”

Jackie was impressed with her trainee’s confidence. Nicky was an absolute rockstar. She remembered everything Jackie taught her. Nicky did the load one, load two, and tower positions flawlessly. The only position she struggled was greeter, the position that most people excelled at. The guests struggled to understand what Nicky’s accent at times, but considering that it wasn’t her fault, and half the time that position wasn’t used anyway, Jackie passed her on greeter.

“Well?” Nicky questioned. “Did I pass?”

“Nicky…” Jackie said with a serious tone. “I’m sorry to tell you… that you were one of the best trainees that I’ve ever had the pleasure of working with.”

“Seriously?” Nicky was stunned. She thought she was going to fail like half percent of the other people, considering Jackie, who was a great rides hostess, needed an extra day when she started. She explained to Nicky that she accidentally took her eyes off of the train at load one when she sent it.

“Yes, now rip that tag off your badge so we can go to lunch.”

\---

Crystal was nervous as she waited for a guest to come up and play her game. The past few days, Crystal learned about all six of the games on The Boardwalk. Even though it took her longer than Widow to catch on, Crystal eventually caught on and became much more confident. Although, when it was time for her assessment, Crystal was a nervous wreck, and begged her partner to go first. They had done mock assessments at five of the games the day before. Because she was so nervous, Crystal cried twice. But, because she technically did everything correctly, and there weren’t actual guests, Heidi didn’t fail her.

Now that it was time for the actual assessment. Crystal and Widow had to run a game by themselves. Crystal begged Widow go first again. Heidi put Widow at the ring toss game. Two preteens came up and handed Widow the money. Widow explained the rules as she set the bucket of rings down.

“You have to completely get the ring around a bottle. It can’t be on their halfway. I’m watching, so don’t cheat.” Her tone was kind, yet stern.

Crystal watched the girls go through every single last ring with no luck.

“Better luck next time, ladies,” Widow said sympathetically.

The three went into the basketball booth. Heidi chose it for Crystal because it was the game she was least likely to get yelled at. Heidi knew that if Crystal cried during her live assessment, she would have to fail her. Heidi never had to fail a trainee, and she wasn’t about to do it now. 

“Hello!” Crystal greeted a boy who was about her age and what looked to be his girlfriend. “Would you like to play?”

The boy nodded and handed over his five dollars. Crystal put the bill in the bank that vacuumed the bill into the bank while her hands shook from nerves. In exchange, Crystal handed over three small basketballs. She watched as the boy failed to make any of the baskets. The girl next to him looked disappointed, yawning while she was on her phone.

He handed over another five. Again, no baskets.

“I’m going to the bathroom,” the girl announced.

Once she was out of earshot, the boy said, “How much to just buy a prize?”

“Sorry, but you can’t do that,” Crystal explained. “None of them are for sale.”

The boy pulled out a twenty. “How about now?”

“No, I can’t. I’m sorry.”

The boy huffed and walked away. “Fucking bitch.”

Heidi looked at Crystal in suspense, hoping to God that she wouldn’t cry. Crystal took a deep breath to compose herself, but managed to hold it together.

“Oh my God, Crystal you didn’t cry!” Widow hugged Crystal.

“I didn’t cry!”

Heidi looked at her trainees sternly. “Unfortunately though, girls, I just gotta say that you could both improve vastly on… absolutely nothing, you both pass. Let’s go to lunch.”

Crystal confidently ripped the TRAINEE tag off of her name badge.

\--

When Gigi, Jan, Jaida, and Brita made it into the break room, Heidi’s training group, as well as Jackie’s were sat at the large table in the middle.

“Normally you aren’t on break at the same time as all of your friends. But, all the trainers may have ‘accidentally’ scheduled break for the same time. Oops,” Brita explained as she sat next to Jackie.

“Hey, gorgeous!” Crystal exclaimed as Gigi sat across from her. “How did it go?” 

“I passed! I talked to a guest and didn’t freeze! You?”

“I got called a bitch by a guest and didn’t cry! I passed, too!”

“Oh my god!” Jan exclaimed. “That’s terrible! Proud of you for handling it so well!”

“Thanks!”

“Jan passed too, of course,” Gigi said. “Did you pass, Nicky?”

Gigi didn’t really know anyone outside of her training group, outside of Crystal, so she was doing her best to make friends. Even though Gigi was a cheerleader and class president in school, she never had a close group of friends, which is something she longed for.

Jackie answered for her. “Nicky was one of the best trainees that I’ve ever had. Not only did she do every position perfectly, but she answered every question that I had.”

“Wow,” Jan said looking at Jackie. “You must be a pretty good trainer.”

Jackie’s face flushed. “Oh, you know. I do my best.”

“Ladies, there’s a tradition that has been upheld since before I started working at this hellhole. After every opening day, there is a huge party in which we all get completely shitfaced to bless the new season. This year, it’s going to be at my place. We close at nine, party starts at 10:30. I know it’s late, but thankfully, the schedulers have mercy on our souls, and if you work the first day of the season, you don’t work the next day,” Heidi explained.

Jan’s face lit up. “I love parties!”

“Me, too!” Jackie spoke a little bit too quickly.

Heidi created a groupchat and sent her address to everyone. Because Heidi was attending the local community college, her apartment was close to the park. Plus, Heidi didn’t have roommates, so they were free to do as they pleased.

“Hey, Gigi could you—”

“I’ll pick you up at 10, Crys.”

The rest of the day, Jaida and Brita’s training group hid in an office talking. There was really no one around to catch them. They had finish the assessments early, so there was nothing else for them to do but sit and talk.

“We have some cute new girls this year. That Nicky, she’s gorgeous. Plus that accent…” Jaida trailed off.

“Are you going to go for her? Do we know if she likes girls?” Brita questioned.

“No, but we will find out tomorrow, won’t we?”

“Are you guys straight?” Gigi was surprised at how blunt Brita was.

“Honestly, I never really thought of it! I’ve dated some boys, and kissed a girl this one time. I think girls are beautiful, like Jackie? She’s gorgeous. So I guess I’m not? I’m not sure. I don’t know what to call myself, ya know? Like I could be bi, I could be pansexual. What’s the difference anyway? Anyway. That’s what’s college is for, right?” Jan laughed at her own joke. “What about you Brita?”

“I--” Brita began.

“She’s straight,” Jaida interrupted. “We all have our flaws. Just like Jackie. Sorry Jan, but that girl is the straightest girl I’ve ever met. Gigi?”

Gigi was hoping that she wouldn’t be asked this question. She’d never had a boyfriend or a girlfriend either. But, one time back in eighth grade, Gigi kissed her best friend at the time, who was a girl. She hadn’t ever felt anything for a boy before, despite being asked out multiple times by football players. 

“Oh, uh. I don’t date.”

“By choice? Or no one’s wanted to hit that?”

Brita clapped. “Jan! The shade!”

Gigi forced a laugh. “I don’t know. The right one hasn’t come along, I guess. Anyway, about this party…”

\---

When the day was over, Jan and Gigi made their way to their cars. Jaida, Brita and the other trainers had their own tradition of getting dinner together. If anyone had trainees that failed, they would have to buy everyone’s dinner. But, since everyone passed, it was just dinner.

Once in Gigi’s car Crystal admitted, “I’m kind of nervous for this party!”

“Nervous? Why?” 

“Well, I don’t drink.”

“You don’t have to drink,” Gigi reassured. “Lots of people don’t. I’m not one of them, but I know plenty who don’t.”

“It’s not just that it’s just…”

“What?”

“I’ve never really had a lot of friends, just a few super close ones, and we were never cool to get invited to any parties so…”

“Crystal, I’ve been to a bunch of parties, and they’re fun. If you don’t end up having fun, we can dip. I think it’ll be a great time. You can get ready at my house, if you want.”

Her face lit up. “I’d love that!”

“So how are you feeling about opening day tomorrow?”

“Nervous. Excited. Kind of like I wanna throw up when I think about it? You?”

“Same. My assessment was okay. Nothing bad happened, but still…” Gigi trailed off.

“I feel like things went a little too well today, you know?”

Crystal, someone literally called you a bitch.”

“Well yeah, but it could always be worse right?”

Crystal’s positivity was contagious. “Yeah I guess so!”

\--

Just like the night before her first day, Gigi didn’t sleep well. She kept thinking about all the horror stories Jaida and Brita told her. Jaida talked about the time a woman stripped naked in the store to try on a swimsuit. Brita dramatically told the story of when a guest threatened to call the cops because she wouldn’t give her the season pass discount on an expired pass. Gigi really hoped nothing like that would happen, especially not on her first day.

She dragged herself out of bed. Her eyes didn’t look as tired as her first day, so she went with light makeup. As she tightened her belt, she looked into the mirror. She looked ridiculous in her uniform, as did everyone else. Everyone but Crystal. Somehow she looked amazing in the uniform.

Once she pulled into her driveway, she texted Crystal

_Hey, I’m outside._

_omw!!!!_

Crystal got into the car and handed Gigi a cup of coffee.

“Hello, my love! Cream and sugar, just how you like it."

Gigi took a sip as she turned up the radio. Crystal gasped. “Oh my god, are you listening to One Direction?”

“You may or may not have gotten me hooked.”

Their drove consisted of singing off key and sipping coffee. Gigi kept stealing glances at Crystal. The amount of joy on her face filled Gigi’s heart. After parking, the two girls sat in Gigi’s jeep trying to compose themselves. They both had to walk in different directions, so they weren’t able to calm each other’s nerves.

When they could no longer delay the inevitable, Crystal gave Gigi a hug. “Good luck, beautiful!”

She smelled so good, and her hair was so soft. As she walked the opposite direction to the games base, Gigi couldn’t help but watch her walk away.

Gigi made her way to the stockroom at the main store on The Landing, Isle Mercantile. Jaida, Jan, Brita, and a bunch of people didn’t know were waiting. One of them was an older woman in a plain blue polo and khaki shorts. Jaida explained in training that someone dressed like that was a supervisor.

“Hello!” the woman said. “My name is Nina.”

“Hi!” Gigi said shyly.

“Well everyone, we have first two newbies this year. This is Gigi, and this is Jan. We’ll have more people as the season goes on, but right now, make sure these girls feel welcome. Jan, Gigi, this is Aquaria, Dahlia, Rock, and Aiden. Of course, you already know Brita and Jaida. Jaida, you’re going to be the lead today, okay?”

“Lead?” Gigi whispered.

“I’m in charge of choosing your assignments, making sure you go on breaks, and more importantly, making sure y’all make it back from your breaks.”

“I think that today’s going to be a great day that’s going to lead into a great season. Jan, Gigi, I’m so happy to have you with us. If you need anything, please don’t hesitate to give me a call!”

Jaida sent Gigi to Candy Kitchen, which is exactly what she was dreading, but she wasn’t about to tell Jaida that. Her hair was going to get ruined by the hairnet that she had to wear, and she sucked at cutting apples. She only hoped that the girl, Rock, would be nice.

Once they made it to the store, Rock asked, “What kind of a name is Gigi?”

“What kind of a name is Rock?” Gigi retorted.

He looked taken aback before saying, “Fair.”

The morning went smoothly. Gigi rang up some transactions. She started out slow, but her speed increased as the day went on. She weighed the bulk candy as people purchased it. At times, she forgot where menu buttons were on the POS, but Rock was always there to help. Rock offered for Gigi to work at the caseline to grab apples, but that made Gigi nervous. Rock agreed to pull apples, but made Gigi promise she would do it after lunch. Gigi made good on her promise, putting on gloves and the apron that was hung up.

A stressed out looking came up to Gigi. “Hi, can I get a chocolate peanut apple, an apple pie apple, and one candied apple?”

“Of course! Do you want me to cut the caramel ones?”

“Are you dumb? Of course I do.”

Gigi was taken aback. “Yes, ma’am.”

Gigi set the apples on the counter, and struggled to remove the sticks. She grabbed the blade, and just like in training, struggled to make slices. Cutting through layers of caramel and chocolate was hard. After a while, she managed to make slices. They didn’t look as nice as Rock’s, but they were mostly intact. She put the two cut apples into containers.

“Umm…” the woman trailed off.

“Yes?”

“You didn’t cut the candied one.”

“Oh, we can’t cut those. The candy will just shatter right off.”

“So I’m supposed to break my teeth on this thing? I don’t care if some falls off, I just want it cut into slices.”

“The apple won’t be as good…”

“Well can you do it anyway?”

Gigi looked at Rock, who shrugged.

Gigi unwrapped the candied apple. This time, she really struggled to remove the stick. She was pulling with all of her strength. She felt the candy coating crack. Shit. Well, it’s what the woman wanted. After finally wrangling the stick out, she cut slices. Almost all of the candy fell off. Gigi put the candy on the bottom of the container and the ugly apple slices on top.

“Here you go, ma’am!”

“Are you serious? It looks like shit!”

"I did tell you that if I cut the apple into slices all the coating would fall off, but you told me that it was fine.”

“Well, maybe, if you didn’t have those skinny chicken arms you could have actually done your job! Also! What’s with your attitude? I know that you don’t give a shit about your job, and you’re probably just some lazy teenager who would rather be making out with her boyfriend all summer, but you’re running my vacation! I spent a lot of money to bring my family here! And I can’t even get a damn apple cut right? What’s your name? Georgiana? I want to speak to your manager.” The woman was nearly screaming. Thankfully, there was no one behind her in line.

“I--”

“Yes ma’am, right away, ma’am.” Rock picked up the phone. “Hi, yes, Nina it’s Rock. I’m in Candy Kitchen and I have a guest requesting a manager. Okay. Thank you.”

“Our supervisor will be here shortly.”

The woman got out of the queue and shot Gigi dagger eyes the entire time. She felt like she was about to have a panic attack. Was she going to get written up? It was her first day and she already had her first guest complaint. After what felt like an eternity, Nina arrived.

“Hello!” her tone was pleasant. “What can I do for you today?”

“This girl ruined my apple.”

“That’s not good. Can you explain to me what happened?”

“She went to cut my candied apple and everything fell off. It’s just an apple and some candy on the bottom now.”

“Ma’am, did Gigi tell you that those apples weren’t meant to be cut?”

The woman mumbled she had.

“And you insisted that she do it anyway?”

“She just must have not done it right! Just look at her, she looks so weak! I’m sure if the oriental one did it, she’d do it fine!”

“Ma’am, please don’t refer to my hostess with that offensive term, and don’t insult my other hostess. Those apples aren’t meant to be cut. You were told that, and still insisted on Gigi cutting it, anyway. It sounds like you were the one in the wrong. Not Gigi. I won’t make you pay for that apple, but I am making you apologize to my hostesses here.”

“I’m sorry,” the woman mumbled. She silently paid for her other two apples with Rock and stormed out, muttering something about leaving a bad review as she left.

“Are you okay?” Nina asked sincerely.

Gigi could only manage to shake her head. Her chest was tight and tears were running down her face. Thankfully, it wasn’t a bad panic attack, but it was a panic attack nonetheless.

“I’ll go with you in the small stockroom. Go back there, have a seat. I just need to call and have Aquaria cover. She’s stocking and should be around soon, anyway. Can you handle the shop by yourself Rock?”

“On it.”

The small stockroom was right behind Candy Kitchen. The entire room smelled like sugar, which made Gigi’s stomach turn. She tried to level her breathing as she sat on the ground.

Nina sat with her and handed her a water bottle. “Hey, listen to me. It’s okay. You weren’t wrong at all. That woman was completely unreasonable.”

“Am I in trouble?” Gigi managed taking a drink of water.

“Why would you be in trouble, when nothing you did was your fault? You are fine. Take as much time as you need."

Gigi nodded. “Thank you.”

“I mean it. If you ever need anything, call.”

\---

Across the park, Crystal was also having a panic attack as she sat in the money room in the games department. A middle aged man kept losing at one of the games. He offered to pay her for a prize, and when she refused, the man lost it. He screamed every bad word and insult that he could muster, right in front of his young daughter. He also threatened to “punch her pretty little face in.” It was to the point that other guests told him to stop, and security was called. The lead, a boy named Ben, covered for her.

Brooke, a pretty blonde supervisor made her way into the money room. She didn’t say anything, but hugged Crystal, which made her break down. Brooke kindly rubbed Crystal's red hair. 

“That man has been banned from ever coming back.”

“Are there a lot of people like him?”

“Not that bad, sweetie. That was one of the worst ones I’ve seen in my six years here. I’m so sorry that it happened to you, especially on your first day. I promise that it’s usually better. You get to make people’s days. You get to make first dates memorable. You get to make little kids happy. Don’t let a couple of bad people ruin this for you.”

Crystal smiled. “Thank you.”

Brooke sat with Crystal until she calmed down.

“Here, let me fix you.” Brooke wiped all of the eyeliner and mascara that had ran down Crystal’s face with a Kleenex.

Thankfully, there was only about half an hour left of her shift, so Brooke let her hang out in the back.

Brooke’s radio went off. Before taking the call, she asked, “Are you going to be okay, sweetie?”

“Yeah, I will. Thank you.”

Brooke winked. “Anytime.”

\--

Gigi met up with Crystal at the lockers and groaned.

“Bad day?” Crystal asked grabbing her bag.

Gigi nodded. On the way to her car, Gigi told Crystal the tale of the candied apple. Crystal looked mortified.

“I’m so sorry that happened to you!”

“I hope your day was better,” Gigi said adjusting her rearview mirror.

“Not… exactly. A grown man threatened to punch me in the face while calling me bad words, some of them I’ve never even heard before.”

“Oh shit Crys,” Gigi said looking at her friend. “I’m so sorry. That makes my story sound like nothing!”

“Gigi, no it’s okay! We both had crappy days, it doesn’t matter which was worse. They were both bad to us, and they’re both over now.”

This made Gigi smile. “Crystal, how are you always so positive?”

“Honestly? I used to not be. But one day I realized that being negative was tiring, so I decided to try to be as positive as possible. Oh, and Gigi?”

“Yes?”

“You know how I said I don’t drink?”

“Yeah.”

“I think after the day I had, I think tonight’s a great night to start.”

“Agreed.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for reading! I'm actually looking for a beta reader so if anyone would be interested, please DM me. Also, i think this will be somewhere between 7-10 chapters. Also, follow me on my new tumblr, @themetaluna!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What better way to celebrate a successful opening day than a party? tw: underage drinking//drinking in general

On the way back home, Gigi turned onto the dirt road that would take her back the quickest. A road that was the exact opposite direction of Crystal’s house.

Crystal gasped. “You’re a liar.”

“Excuse me?”

“You said your house was on the way to mine. Clearly it's not. Why’d you say it was?”

“Because I knew that you would say no if I told you it wasn’t on the way, and I like driving you. I like our conversations. And coffee. And of course, singing terribly together.”

“You’re absolutely right. I wouldn’t have let you. But I love talking to you, Gigi.” She smiled. “And I have no idea what you’re talking about. I am a great singer and you know it.”

Once they made it back to Gigi’s, she led Crystal up the stairs into her room. Gigi’s room was exactly what Crystal had imagined. It was decorated with an orange and aqua color scheme. It was a lot cleaner than Crystal’s room. There were posters of musicians that Crystal didn’t know. Above the bed, there were fairy lights with Polaroids. One corner of the room had a vanity with a large backlit mirror, and the other had a desk with plants perched on top.

“I guess you can do makeup at the desk? I think I have an extra mirror…” Gigi rifled through her vanity drawer. “Here we go.”

“Thanks!” Crystal took out a plethora of hair pins that kept perfectly messy space buns intact. She was left with a frizzy mess. “As much as I love looking like a lion, do you have a straightener I can borrow?”

“Are you sure?  _ Lion King _ is one of the best movies.”

“I’m more partial to  _ Hercules. _ ”

“If you say so. Let me go get it from the bathroom.”

Crystal examined the Polaroids. There were six in total. The first photo was taken with a girl who looked to be a few years older than Gigi that had striking similarities. Both girls had the same upturned nose and blonde hair. Immediately, Crystal recognized that they were on The Boardwalk at the park, the large Ferris wheel visible in the background. The second photo was Gigi with a woman that Crystal could only assume to be her mother, and was taken at the beach. Gigi and the woman were both relaxing on colorful towels under a large umbrella. The last Polaroid Crystal looked at was of the three women skating at Rockefeller Center during Christmastime.

“Having fun?”

Crystal jumped. “Is this your mom and sister?”

Gigi nodded. “I love them so much. Honestly they’re my best friends”

“It’s nice that you guys are so close.” Crystal felt a pang of jealousy. As an only child, she would never know the bond of a sibling, and while she and her parents were on good terms, she would hardly consider her parents friends, let alone best friends.

“Honestly me and Nora, my sister, weren’t close until our dad left our mom a few years back. I think it’s because we really only had each other to lean on.”

“Oh, Gigi, I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry. He’s an asshole, and honestly, we’re better off without him.” Gigi forgot she was holding the straightener. “Oops, sorry. Here go you.”

After Gigi sat at her vanity and began brushing her perfect blonde hair, Crystal called, “I’m changing. Don’t look!”

Gigi could only imagine what Crystal looked like in her underwear. As soon as she found her mind wandering, she forced herself to stop and focused harder on getting ready.

After finishing a perfectly blended smokey eye, Gigi puckered her lips after putting on a layer of red gloss, and realized Crystal was standing behind her. It was hard for Gigi not to audibly gasp. She hadn’t seen Crystal’s hair straightened before, and while her curls were beautiful, she looked incredible with straight hair too. She was wearing a black and white striped crop top that hugged just the right places paired with a black skater skirt that had suspenders. Gigi was impressed at how clean Crystal’s makeup was. She opted for a blue cut crease and a matte red lip, a combination Gigi would never even think about trying. To finish the look, she had on necklaces, earrings, and bracelets that didn’t match each other, but somehow Crystal pulled off perfectly. 

“You look beautiful,” Gigi finally said.

“Thanks,” Crystal curtseyed. “You too. Oh shit!”

“What?”

“We match.” Gigi looked at her reflection, and realized she was right. Her black and white jumpsuit perfectly complemented Crystal’s top.

Crystal grabbed Gigi’s hand. “Come here!” She pulled her to the full length mirror.

“What are we doing?”

“We have zero pictures together, which needs to change.” Crystal pulled out her phone and started taking mirror selfies. After posing for a few, Crystal went through her camera roll, taking time to look at each of them.

“Wow, you are so gorgeous. You could literally be a model. You’re so good at posing.”

Gigi smiled. “I used to practice when I was little.”

“Well, it paid off.”

Crystal sent the best one in the groupchat. It was already abuzz talking about the night’s festivities. The photo was met with high praises from everyone.

After she checked the time on her phone, Gigi said, “If we’re gonna get some alcohol, we should probably leave now.”

Crystal bit her lip. “How are we going to get any?”

Wordlessly, Gigi pulled an ID out of her wallet and handed it to Crystal, which stated that she was born in 1996. “I’ve had this since I was 16.”

“Oh wow, you rebel.”

Once inside the liquor store, Crystal was surprised at how many types of alcohol there were. She had no idea where to begin. There were shelves and shelves of bottles of all different shapes, sizes, and colors. She wondered how anyone picked which one to buy. If it was up to her, she would have bought the purple sparkly alcohol. She wasn’t even sure what it was, but it was pretty.

Gigi looked at her. “Any requests?”

“Gigi I have no idea what any of this is. Just something fruity and delicious.”

“Got it.”

Gigi settled on a fifth of coconut rum and some pineapple juice to mix. While walking past the cooler, she grabbed a six pack of hard black cherry lemonade for good measure.

Once they made it to Heidi’s apartment, the party was already in full swing. Music was playing so loud that its loud bass line echoed through the parking lot. Earlier that night, Heidi had told everyone to let themselves in. Heidi’s apartment was filled with people. It was much larger than Gigi anticipated. It was nicely decorated with a large living room, with plenty of space. At first, Gigi didn’t recognize any of her fellow partygoers. She heard Brita, but didn’t see her. As they made it further into the house, they found Heidi, right in front of the sound system the music was coming from. Gigi felt her chest vibrating.

“Hey, bitches!” Heidi hugged them the best she could while double fisting Whiteclaws.

“Do you have any cups?” Gigi tried to shout over the music.

“What?”

“Cups?”

“ _ What _ ?”

Gigi pantomimed drinking. 

“Oh! Kitchen.”

Once they made it into the kitchen, a voice screamed, “Oh my god!”

Brita pulled Gigi and Crystal into a hug. Gigi could only think about how nice Crystal smelled. Crystal looked slightly taken aback, since she didn’t know Brita well. But, let it go since Brita was probably on at least drink number three of the night.

“You’re both so hot!” Brita looked both of them up and down. “Maybe I do like girls! Wow, wow, I’m drunk.”

“Yes, yes you are,” Gigi said as Brita left the kitchen, going on about finding a girl to makeout with .

Gigi grabbed a red Solo cup and began pouring a drink. Because Crystal hadn’t drank before she barely poured a shot’s worth of alcohol in her cup. This was a contrast to her own cup, which was half rum and half pineapple juice. Gigi spotted a marker next to the cups. On hers, she wrote her name with some stars after it. After some thought, she decided to draw hearts on Crystal's cup.

Gigi handed Crystal the cup, making sure that she would see the hearts. “Here, drink this.”

Crystal dramatically gasped. “You’re such a talented artist.”

“Thank you, ma’am.”

As she took a drink, Crystal’s face contorted to a slight look of disgust. “It’s um. Strong.”

“You don’t have to drink it if you don’t like it.” Gigi held her hand out to take the cup.

Crystal took another drink. “The more I drink it, the more I like it.”

“That’s usually how alcohol works, babe.”

After walking around Heidi’s apartment, Crystal and Gigi eventually found their friends. They were all sitting on a large sectional in a corner of the living apartment where the music wasn’t blaring. Gigi was glad to be able to hear herself think. Jaida and Nicky were looking quite comfortable next to each other. Nicky whispered something in Jaida’s ear before grabbing her hand and leading her out of the room.

“Shit,” Jackie groaned. “Shit, shit, shit.”

“What is it?” Jan’s eyes were full of concern.

“Every single summer, Jaida meets one of the new girls, they hook up, and she gets way too invested. Every single summer she breaks her own heart, and I end up picking up the pieces. Every. Single. Time," Jackie lamented, taking a swig of vodka. 

“Maybe it won’t be like that. Nicky seems like a nice girl,” Crystal said while taking a seat.

“That may be so, but I don’t think that Nicky has the same intentions that Jaida does. I love the girl but she’s an idiot.”

“Well,” Jan began. “Jaida’s a big girl, I think she can handle it herself. Let’s go check out the beer pong table.”

The kitchen table was pushed into the hallway where an intense game of beer pong was taking place. It was Widow and Heidi vs. Gigi’s coworkers, Dahlia and Rock.

There was one cup left, and it was Widow’s turn. Carefully, she aimed and threw the ball and landed it perfectly in the cup.

“Drink up, bitches!” Dahlia chugged the beer in the cup.

“Who’s next?” Heidi asked. “We’ve won the last three rounds.”

Crystal looked at Gigi, who at some point finished her drink and moved onto a lemonade. “Wanna?”

Gigi raised her and Crystal’s hands.

“Step on up, ladies!” Heidi said as she refilled the cups.

Widow went first. “Y’all are going down!”

“You wish.” Gigi’s expression was determined. She was awful at beer pong, but wasn’t about to let Crystal know that.

Widow’s ball landed in one of the cups with a _ plop _ right in front of Crystal. It was clear Crystal wasn’t well versed in the rules of beer pong, so Widow instructed, “Crystal, drink.”

Crystal nervously fished the ball out of the cup. She raised it to her nose and made a face.

“It’s not going to be good,” Gigi said. “Just warning you. Thankfully there’s not much in there. Don’t let it sit on your tongue. Drink it down.”

Crystal did as she was instructed. “My turn?” Gigi nodded.

Even though she tried to aim, Crystal was feeling the effects of the alcohol. The ball veered to the left, nearly hitting Jan. “Oops.”

“Good one,” Heidi teased as she sank a ball right in front of Gigi. “Drink up.”

Gigi also made a face when she drank the beer. “You’re out here getting the cheap shit, huh?”

“You try buying boujee shit when we barely make about minimum wage.”

Gigi couldn’t argue with that logic. She surprised herself by making a shot.

“I’m impressed,” Widow said while finishing her cup.

After a close game, each team had one cup left. Crystal failed to score anything. Thankfully, Gigi was having a good game for once and carried them to the end. Gigi’s shot was just wide.

“Get ready to lose, hookers,” Widow said confidently. She was so confident, she barely aimed and missed.

“It’s all you, Crys,” Gigi said. “You can do it.”

“I can do it.”

Crystal stood aiming her ball for at least thirty seconds.

“Today, Crystal,” Heidi said dramatically looking at her nails.

“Hold on!”

She took a few more seconds before tossing the ball. It landed in the cup with a  _ plop. _ Jan, Jackie, and a few other spectators cheered.

“I did it!” Crystal slurred hugging Gigi.

“You did!”

“I wanna dance. Let’s go dance!” By this point, Crystal was extremely drunk. Gigi found it absolutely adorable, the way she slurred her words and thought very hard before speaking.

The group made their way into the living room. Another song that Gigi didn’t recognize was playing over the speakers. Jan began to grind against Jackie. Jackie was taken aback, but pulled her closer. Crystal looked at Gigi and raised an eyebrow. Gigi shrugged in return. A song that Gigi had heard a few times on the radio started.

“Oh my god, I love this song!” Crystal squealed, standing in front of Gigi starting to grind on her.

Gigi was shocked as Crystal’s hips rocked back and forth in front of her. Gigi grabbed onto Crystal’s waist, pulling her closer. As Crystal rubbed against her, Gigi could feel herself being turned on. When Crystal bent at the waist and started shaking her ass, the blonde thought she would drop dead on the dancefloor. Crystal turned her head at Gigi and smiled.

_ Do I kiss her? Is she just looking at me? What’s going on?! _

Before she could think any further, Crystal turned back around as the song ended and pulled Gigi into a hug.

“I’m having so much fun!” Crystal exclaimed.

“How many drinks have you had tonight, Crys?”

“Umm,” She counted on her fingers. “One, two, three... Four. I think I’m done!”

“I think that’s a good idea.”

Crystal gasped and pointed at Jan and Jackie. They were in the middle of the makeshift dance floor with their lips intertwined. Jackie had a fistful of Jan’s ass while Jan’s hands were running up and down Jackie’s back.

“Holy shit!” Gigi was thinking about earlier when Jaida said that Jackie was straight.

Just then, Jaida and Nicky found Crystal and Gigi. They both looked disheveled, as if they had gotten dressed in a hurry. Jaida was pulling up her tube top, and Nicky was fixing her hair.

“Where have you two been?” Gigi raised an eyebrow.

“Mind your business,” Jaida warned.

The four girls watched Jan and Jackie, who had stopped kissing and were just looking into each other’s eyes. After noticing her friends, Jackie ran into the bathroom. 

“Shit,” Jaida said, running after Jackie.

“Did I do something wrong?” Jan asked, tears welling her eyes.

“No, you didn’t do anything,” Gigi took her hand. “Let’s go outside.”

\--

“Jackie, what the hell?” Jaida slammed the bathroom door behind her.

“I don’t know! Jaida, I’m drunk, she’s drunk… She just looked really pretty, and I don’t know what happened! Next thing I knew, my hands were on her ass and her tongue was down my throat!” Jackie slurred. “I’m straight! I don’t like girls!”

“Listen. I’ve seen you. You’ve been checking out Miss Jan every single day you’ve seen her. I don’t think that’s just gals being pals.”

“I’m  _ not  _ gay.”

“Jackie. We don't have to talk about that right now but I really think you should--"

"Jaida, stop. I can't do this right now."

With that, Jackie stormed off in a hurry.

\--

Gigi, Nicky, and Crystal managed to calm down Jan, who was near hysterics.

“Does she hate me?” Jan slurred. “She kissed me first!"

“No, Jan. I think that maybe Jackie doesn’t know how to process whatever it is that she is feeling,” Nicky reassured.

Gigi’s phone buzzed.

_ Jackie’s freaking out. I’m taking her home. She doesn’t live too far away. I’ll be back. _

They all sat with a crying Jan until Jaida showed up.

“Oh, chile,” Jaida began wrapped Jan in a hug. “It’s not you. I promise it isn’t. Jackie doesn’t know how to act when it comes to her emotions. I promise it’s not you.”

“Really?” Jan wiped her eyes. “How fucked is my makeup right now?”

“Pretty fucked. But let me fix it.” Nicky said, pulling a wipe from her purse.

“I’m not letting her ruin my night. Ladies, let’s go do shots!” Jan pulled a bottle of tequila out of her bag.

There were already slices of lime and a salt shaker set up in the kitchen. Because she was the only one sober enough to do so, Gigi poured the shots.

“Crystal,” Jan slurred. “Whatcha gotta do is you lick your hand and shake the salt on it. Then, ya lick the salt, then ya take the shot. It tastes bad, don’t let it sit in your mouth. Then ya suck the lime.”

"Act like it's cough syrup," Jaida recommended.

The four girls toasted their glasses, set them on the table, shot the tequila back, and sucked on the lime. Gigi didn’t think she was good at very many things, but she was good at shots. Everyone else made the universal face when doing shots, except for her.

“Crystal, you look like you went through all the stages of grief at once,” Nicky teased.

“That was gross.”

“You don’t drink it because it’s good,” Jaida said.

The rest of the night was filled with selfies, dancing, and for everyone but Gigi, more drinking. She didn’t remember the last time she had this much fun at a party, even if she did spend a good chunk of the night holding Jan’s hair back in the bathroom.

At about two AM, the party started to unwind.

“Ready to go babe?” Gigi asked an extremely drunk Crystal.

“Yeah I’m ready to go home.”

“It’s late, do you want to just spend the night at my house?”

“We’re gonna have a sleepover?”

“Yes, Crystal, we’re going to have a sleepover.”

After thanking Heidi for a great party, she managed to single handedly get Crystal into her Jeep. Gigi looked over at Crystal who at some point had fallen asleep. Once they made it back to her house, Gigi gently tapped Crystal’s shoulder.

“Okay, babe, we’re back.”

“Sleepover?”

After much protesting, Gigi managed to get Crystal to drink some water. She brought a bottle up to her room for good measure. Because she was a good friend, she removed Crystal’s makeup.

After rifling through her dresser, she gave Crystal an old cheerleading shirt and some shorts. “The bathrooms right over down--”

Crystal began stripping in Gigi’s bedroom. As much as she tried to look away, she couldn’t. Crystal’s body was much curvier than her own, but Gigi couldn’t help but stare at how beautiful she was… How beautiful her breasts were... After changing, Crystal plopped onto Gigi’s bed and fell asleep. Because she had a queen sized bed, Gigi decided she could share and it wouldn’t be weird.

The next day, Crystal woke up cuddling Gigi. She didn’t remember parts of the night. She remembered beer pong, dancing, Jan crying, Jackie running away, and shots. Her head was pounding, and everything felt too bright. She got up and found the bottle of water. She pulled out her phone to text her ride. She couldn’t let Gigi give her another ride home.

Gigi must have heard her, as she woke up. “Morning, sunshine. How are you feeling?”

“Not good. My head’s pounding.”

“Awe, baby’s first hangover,” Gigi teased. “Are you hungry?”

“No, eating is pretty much the last thing I want to do right now. I have someone coming to get me soon. Also, did you check the group chat?”

“No, why?”

Gigi sat on her bed with Crystal as they went through all the photos that were sent that night. The blurry photos said it all. Gigi’s favorite was a group photo right before shots.

Crystal’s phone buzzed. “My ride’s here!”

“I’ll walk you down.”

A truck was in Gigi’s driveway. A blonde boy with a shaggy beard came out.

“Ryan!” Crystal exclaimed, running to hug the boy. “Gigi, this is my boyfriend Ryan. Ryan, this is my coworker, Gigi.”

_ Boyfriend. _

Gigi’s stomach dropped.

"I've heard so much about you!"

“Nice to meet you,” she mumbled.

“Thanks for taking care of her.” Ryan kissed Crystal on the cheek.

“No problem. I’ll see you tomorrow, Crystal.”

Gigi closed the door without waiting for a response.

__

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you for reading! if you wanna follow me on tumblr it's @themetaluna


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jackie has to address her actions from the party, while Gigi has to process feelings she'd rather not.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, the amount of support I'm getting is making me SO happy, thank you all so much.

Gigi spent the rest of the day in bed. After crying until her eyes were red and puffy, she sat in bed trying to process everything. Crystal had a boyfriend. A _boyfriend._ When she shut her eyes, all she could see was the blonde boy and Crystal kissing. All Gigi could do was think about their relationship. How did they meet? Who asked who out? Have they slept together? Were they in love? Was it serious? She then pictured them doing gross romantic couple things. The thought of Crystal and that boy going to a pumpkin patch and picking out a pumpkin while sharing hot apple cider made her heart sink. Gigi pictured the two of them at prom, his tux matching her dress, dancing the night away. After breaking her heart with more scenarios, she forced herself to stop thinking so hard about it.

No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t stop thinking about the night before. Gigi thought about how beautiful and carefree Crystal looked... She thought about the way her face lit up when she won beer pong. She started thinking about the two of them dancing... The way Crystal’s hips swayed against her… Gigi’s mind wandered to when Crystal changed in front of her.

Never had Gigi Goode seen anyone’s bare chest but her own. She bit her lip as she pictured Crystal topless, while stroking her own breast, while her other hand trailed downward… She knew it was a bad idea, so she forced herself to stop. Gigi sat up in bed, trying desperately to clear her head.

Her next thoughts were about Crystal’s sexuality. Was she straight? With the way that she acted around her, Gigi was almost certain that she wasn’t. There was no way. But what if she was? What if she was reaching, and everything Crystal did was completely reasonable for a friend to do?

Back when Nora lived at home, Gigi watched her older sister get her heartbroken many times. Nora, much like Jaida, got extremely invested extremely quickly. One time when she was fourteen and Nora was eighteen, Gigi watched her big sister cry over some boy on the debate team. It had been the second time that month. Gigi, who had finally had enough told her sister to stop being so stupid for him.

Now she was trying to tell herself to stop being so stupid for Crystal. Four years later, Gigi understood that her words were much easier said than done.

Gigi just hoped to God that she would be able to keep it together the next morning.

“Hello, my love!” Crystal said cheerfully handing an extremely unenthused Gigi a coffee mug.

Gigi forced herself to snap out of it. It’s not like Crystal was shattering her heart into a million pieces and then torching them on purpose.

Crystal looked at Gigi. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah. I’m just tired.”

“Gotcha. I feel you. Me and Ryan went hiking yesterday. Hiking isn’t fun hungover. It’s not very much fun to begin with, but especially not when you’re hungover, but I promised him I’d go.”

This was her chance. “I didn’t know you even had a boyfriend.”

“Yeah! We’ve been together since freshman year of high school. I guess I’m just not the type of person to gush about her boyfriend.”

“That’s so… sweet,” Gigi managed through gritted teeth.

“I really love him. This is so lame, but we won homecoming king and queen.”

“Awe, cute.” Gigi could hear her the insincerity dripping from her voice. Thankfully Crystal couldn’t.

“He’s really the best. I think you guys would get along really well.”

_Yeah, right._

Gigi hesitated. “Why don’t you ever post pictures with him?” Because of the many nights spent stalking Crystal’s social media, if there was any mention of a boyfriend, she would have known.

“Honestly?” Crystal began. “He doesn’t really like to take pictures. He’s very anti-social media. Ryan is low key a conspiracy theorist. Almost every day he tells me to delete my social media because now North Korea has my information or something.”

“That’s so… interesting.”

What about you, do you have a boyfriend?”

“Nope.”

“Did you just not want one or…”

Gigi trusted Crystal, but didn’t trust her enough to tell her everything about her. Not yet. “I think that I’m afraid to let people in.”

“Really?”

She sighed. “Ever since my dad, I’ve had a hard time trusting anyone. Abandonment issues and shit.”

“I am so sorry.”

“I guess I just look at as what’s the point of dating if they’re just going to leave anyway?”

Crystal held her hand on top of Gigi’s and looked at her with a face full of sincerity. “I’ll never leave you.”

“Thank you,” Gigi managed in just above a whisper.

“You know too much about me. I like you, and really don’t want to have to kill you.”

\---

Jackie was one to always be on time. However, she was not one to be an extra half an hour early. But, she knew that Jan was opening, and aimed to avoid the blonde at all costs. Unfortunately for Jackie, when opening her locker, she saw blonde hair and a purple backpack out of the corner of her eye. As much as she hoped she wouldn’t, Jan made her way over.

“Jackie, hi. Do you want to talk about… it?”

“I’d prefer to not if that’s okay,” Jackie said shoving her bag inside of her locker.

“Jackie, don’t shut me out. I know that it probably isn’t like you to do something like that, but it happened. It happened, and you can’t take it back. I know we haven’t known each other for that long, but I really value and respect you as a person. I don’t know why you freaked out, especially because kissed me first. I’ll give you space if you want space, but please. Talk to me when you’re ready.” She walked away without waiting for a response.

For the rest of the day, Jackie couldn’t focus. She was team lead that day, and almost forgot to send Nicky on her break. While in tower, all Jackie could think about was Jan. She had no idea why she couldn’t shake the blonde from her head. Even though she dated boys all through school, she never felt strongly toward any of them. She slept with her boyfriend in junior year, but broke up with him right after, because she felt nothing toward him. There was something different about Jan. Jackie felt things toward Jan that she thought she was supposed to feel to her boyfriends. The keyword being _boyfriend_. Being gay was out of the question for Jackie. Her entire life, both of her parents that being gay was immoral and disgusting, something Jackie never understood. It was up until she met Jaida her first summer at Paradise Isle before she even met a gay person. As Jackie looked at the monitors from tower, she tried to reassure herself that she definitely wasn’t gay, and that Jan was just pretty. Even if she knew it wasn’t true.

Finally, it was time for her break. Jackie looked around, making sure that Jan wasn’t also on her break. Thankfully, she was in the clear. Jaida was sitting at a table by herself eating a salad.

“Hey, girl,” Jaida said as Jackie sat across from her.

“Jaida. I have a problem.”

“Is that problem a pretty blonde girl named Jan?”

“How did you know?”

“What do you remember about the party?”

“I kissed Jan. Like. I initiated it, apparently. But it was just one kiss right?”

“Ooh, chile. No, you guys were making out. For a while. Everyone saw. You were grabbing her ass and everything.”

Jackie buried her head in her hands. “Oh, no.”

“Have you seen her today?"

“Yeah, this morning. She tried to talk to me, but I wouldn’t listen. She agreed to give me space… I can’t hold this off forever, Jaida.”

“No. You can’t. You know what y’all need?” Jaida questioned.

“What?”

“You know what.”

“I’m not taking Jan onto the Ferris wheel.”

Because Paradise Isle was mostly ran by people who were all around the same age, there were plenty of relationships, flings, and conflicts. When any problems arose, it was customary to go into the Ferris wheel to resolve any issues. The parties in question would ride until they either they resolved their issues, stormed off angrily, or ran away crying. It wasn’t something management allowed, but the supervisors knew how much conflict it resolved, so they let it slide. Jackie had never had to take any rides in the Ferris wheel. Jaida, however, took at least one a summer. Her second summer she took three.

“If you don’t take her, I’m going to shove your skinny Persian ass into that ride. I’ll drag Jan by the hair if I have to. You are going to talk this out. Okay?”

Jackie grumbled. “I guess.”

“Tell Jan to meet you at the Ferris wheel. The Genie closes early tonight for maintenance, right?”

Jackie nodded. Once a month, The Genie closed a half an hour early for maintenance, which made it the perfect night.

“Okay, perfect. Jan’s stocking tonight, so it’ll be easy for her to slip away.”

Jackie’s heart beat fast as she tried to come up with what to text Jan. She reread it twice and made Jaida read it, too before she sent it.

_Hey. I’m really sorry. Can we talk? I’ll be at the Ferris wheel at close._

Jan responded almost immediately.

_ill see you then_

“How did she respond so fast?” Jackie questioned.

“Stockers do whatever they want. Anyway. My break’s over. Let me know how it goes.”

“Will do.”

\---

Gigi couldn’t stop thinking about Crystal. It didn’t help that she was in the slowest store, at the slowest time of the night, all by herself. Nobody wanted to buy overpriced, blurry photos of themselves on rides. She debated calling Jan because she was bored, but decided against it, since Jan was going to be by soon to close the store.

“Hey, gorg,” Jan said as she made her way inside.

“Hey.”

“What’s wrong?”

“What do you mean?”

“’Hey.’” Jan mocked Gigi’s depressed tone as she started shutting down photo monitors.

“Promise you won’t tell?” Gigi felt like she was in middle school saying that sentence.

“Pinky promise.”

Gigi linked pinkies with Jan while emptying the register. “So me and Crystal got super close super quickly, I’m sure you saw.”

“Yeah, of course. She’s a sweetheart.”

“Yeah she is. Anyway. I started feeling…. _Feelings_ toward her. Do you follow?” Jan nodded. “And honestly, I thought she felt the same way... She spent the night at my house after the party and literally cuddled with me.”

“Oh wow, really?”

“Yeah. So here I was, thinking that she felt the same way. Turns out I was completely wrong. Get this, she gets picked up from my house _by her boyfriend_.”

“Oof.”

“Oof, indeed.”

“Well,” Jan said. “Have you thought about telling her?”

“Absolutely not.” Gigi finished putting the rest of the money in the locked bag. The two girls headed out of the store.

“Why not?”

“What good is it going to do?”

Jan slammed the gate in front of the store shut as they left.

“Would it give you any sort of peace of mind?”

“I mean, maybe. But what if it ruins everything? It’s not like she’s gonna break up with him on the spot to date me. Why would--”

They were interrupted on their way to the money room by an older woman.

“I’m supposed to meet my family at The Landing. How do I get there?”

Jan smiled kindly. “Ma’am you’re on The Landing right now.”

“I am? Where’s my family?”

“Can’t help you with that ma’am, hope you find them!” Jan walked away before the woman could continue.

Gigi rolled her eyes at the woman. “Why would I risk the friendship? I’d rather have her in my life as my friend than not at all.”

They reached the money room, where they were greeted by Nina. After handing her the locked money bag, they made their way to Isle Mercantile’s stockroom to help close.

“At the end of the day, it’s up to you. I can’t tell you what to do. It’s not an easy situation, and it doesn’t have a clear answer. I’m sorry Gigi.” Jan hugged Gigi.

“Thanks, Jan.”

Jan. “Oh shit. I’m late.”

“Late for what?”

“Jackie wants to talk about… things.”

“Good luck.”

\---

The rest of Jackie’s workday went by disgustingly slow. At least she spent the rest of her shift at Load 1, which meant that she ran back and forth checking lapbars, and then engaging her console. It kept her busy and kept her mind off of Jan, at least for a while.

Once her shift ended, Jackie changed into the clothes that she had in her bag, old jean shorts, and a t-shirt with her university’s logo, desperately wishing that she kept cuter spare clothes. Close to closing, all attractions on The Boardwalk had a short wait. When she got there, a slightly unusual girl named Yvie was operating the ride. Jackie didn’t know Yvie well, but remembered that the year prior, Yvie had to ride the wheel with a girl named Scarlet.

It was five minutes after close. All Jackie could do was think about what a big mistake she made until she saw Jan running full force down The Boardwalk. “I’m so sorry! I was mending a broken heart.”

“Good luck,” Yvie said as they went up.

Jackie and Jan didn’t say anything at first.

Finally, Jan broke the silence. “Do you regret it?”

“What?”

“Do you regret kissing me?”

Jackie sat, methodically constructing her answer. “No. No, I don’t.”

“Well why did you freak out then? I hope you know that you really fucking hurt me, Jackie.”

This made Jackie’s heart break. Knowing that she caused such a kind soul hurt killed her. “Jan, I am so, so sorry. That is the last thing I wanted to do. I just need you to know one thing.”

“What?”

“It had absolutely nothing to do with you… Honestly my entire life my parents told me being gay was bad, and I didn’t think I believed them, but maybe part of my subconscious did. Not that at all is an excuse for my behavior. The thought of liking a girl the way I was told I was supposed to like boys freaked me the fuck out.”

They reached the platform.

“Again?” Yvie asked.

Jackie nodded.

“Gotcha.”

“I never even considered the fact that I could be gay. And then I met you, and you’re so confident in who you are.”

“Confident in who I am? Jackie, I’ve never labelled my sexuality. I dated a couple boys in my time, but also hooked up with a girl on my soccer team. I just know that if I like someone, I like them. I don’t really think anything beyond that matters, not that I haven’t had late nights where I couldn’t stop thinking about how confused I was.”

Jackie was surprised. Jan seemed so sure of herself, so it was unusual to imagine her being unsure about anything. “Really? You seem so confident about literally everything.”

“Do you wanna know a secret? Most of it’s fake. My mom used to always tell me ‘fake it til you make it,’ and I guess it stuck.”

They reached the bottom again. Yvie looked at them and Jackie nodded.

“10-4.”

They started rising again.

Jackie exhaled. Her heart was pounding. It was now or never. “I’ve dated boys all throughout school. I slept with one of them. And honestly, Jan? I felt more when I kissed you the other night than I ever did when I was with any of them, and I was _drunk_... Jan, I haven’t stopped thinking about you since the party. I think about how you light up every room you go into. I think about how pretty you are when you smile. I keep thinking about kissing you again.”

“Wow.”

“And I’m sorry if that’s strong, but I just need to tell let that off my chest and I understand if--”

Jan didn’t let Jackie finish. Instead, she grabbed her shirt and kissed her. If Jackie thought kissing Jan drunk was nice, kissing her sober was incredible. Their lips moved in perfect synchronization. Jackie was used to boys who led with the tongue. Instead, Jan’s kisses were gentle, yet powerful. Jackie unconsciously moved her hand through Jan’s soft hair. Eventually, Jan broke the kiss.

“Is that okay that I did that?”

Instead of answering, Jackie pulled her into another kiss. At this point, they reached the top.

“I really like you, Jan. I don’t really know how to process that information, but I know that I like kissing you.”

“I like kissing you, too. We can take it as slowly as you want. I want to see where this goes. I think we have something good here.”

“I think so, too.”

Jan rested her head on Jackie’s shoulder the rest of the way down.

Yvie looked in at them. “You guys good?”

Jan smiled. “Never better.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys enjoyed the Jankie. I maaaaay or may not have a wip featuring them. as always, @themetaluna on tumblr as always. give me a follow! i want more writers to talk to. Oh, also if any of you aren't familiar with terms used on radios, 10-4 means affirmative, and people who work rides and attractions ALWAYS say it in regular sentences to each other for some reason.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which many people make mistakes in different ways, all with consequences.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my god so many positive responses to this! Thank you so, so much. A TW in this chapter, domestic abuse is mentioned, but not described in detail.

The rest of the month went by smoothly for Jaida. She got to be team lead for most of her shifts, much to the jealousy of her coworkers. She didn’t care. She knew she was damn good at her job, and paid her dues for the past few years. It was what she deserved. Part of her was sad knowing it was her last summer at the park, but the idea of law school was much more exciting than telling guests that they had to put shoes on all summer.

She and Nicky continued their fling. It was some of the best sex Jaida had ever had. Jaida could feel herself developing feelings for Nicky, but rather than address them, she just ignored them. They’d go away on their own right?

She woke up at noon. Because there weren't many leads in Sales, she worked six days a week, and it was her first day off in twelve days. She deserved to sleep in. Her phone buzzed. It was Nicky texting the groupchat.

_Heyy ladies, I’m off today. Does anyone want to play in the park today?_

This was her shot. Even though she and Nicky spent a lot of time together, they didn’t ever get the chance to just talk. Even after they hooked up, Nicky usually left pretty soon after, always having a reason to not hang out after.

_First day off in 12. I’m down._

Nicky texted back quickly. _See you at 2._

Jaida peered into her closet, and suddenly, she hated every single article of clothing that she owned. After rifling through shirts, and trying on different outfit combinations, she eventually settled on a cropped black tank top and army green shorts. 

Out of all of her coworkers, Jaida lived the furthest away. The half hour drive gave Jaida time to think. She knew that she felt differently about Nicky than she did with any of the previous flings. Even though she had her flings, none of them ended in a relationship. When she thought about Nicky, images flashed in her head of dinner dates, picking pumpkins, and curling up on the couch watching a movie. She had to do it. She had to bring Nicky to the Ferris wheel. If they went up together, they could talk it out. 

When Jaida arrived, it was only 1:40. The Landing, where the stores were, was in the front of the park, just off the entrance. She decided that she could harass her coworkers. Before entering Isle Mercantile, she saw Gigi walking with a cart full of beach towels.

“Gigi!” she called.

“Jaida! Hi! I saw you’re hanging with Nicky.” Gigi raised an eyebrow. “What exactly is going on with you?”

“Honestly, I don’t know. I really don’t.”

Gigi pushed her cart into a shady corner under the roof. “Here. Come over here. Step into my office.”

Jaida rolled her eyes and sighed. “It’s just so hard. I like her, and obviously she likes me enough to fuck me, but I don’t know that she likes me enough to date me.”

Her phone buzzed. Jackie.

_Girl. I saw you were coming into the park with Nicky. Are you going to talk it out?_

She decided she could reply later and continued. “It’s so embarrassing but I’ve never had a girlfriend. I don’t know how to have this conversation. I doubt she likes me.”

"If you guys have manage to hook up as many times as you have, I feel like you’ve got something there.”

“Thanks, Gigi. Hey, what’s been up with you?”

“What do you mean?”

“You just seem a lot less happy. Are you okay?”

Gigi nodded a little too quickly. “I’m fine! Anyway, Jaida if I don’t stock these towels, Brita’s gonna be pissed!”

Her phone buzzed again. It was Nicky.

_I’m here. Meet at the food trucks!_

After walking to the trucks, Jaida spotted Nicky at a table. The sunlight was hitting the blonde in just the right spots, making the her look even more beautiful than normal.

Jaida decided to sneak up behind Nicky. “Boo, bitch.”

She jumped, nearly falling out of her chair. “You bitch!”

“Let’s go ride the Jinn. I haven't done it yet this year."

While in line, she decided to text Jackie back.

_I really want to, but I don’t know what to say, or how to bring it up. All I know that this feels different. This isn’t the same as all the others for the past three years. I can’t describe it. I really, really like Nicky. I want to take the next step, but I don't know if she does._

As she hit “send” she returned her phone to her pocket, right as Nicky picked hers up.

Jaida knew what she did. _Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck_. How could she be so stupid?

“So, that didn't go to Jackie. Jaida…” Nicky began. “Is this true?”

Jaida was hoping to bring Nicky up in the Ferris wheel. Even though things never fell in her favor, it was a comforting place. The line they were in was a 30 minute wait. They had nothing but time to talk it out. Even though it wasn't ideal, Jaida nodded. “It is.”

Nicky sighed. “Jaida, I like you, I really do.”

This is exactly how every other girl began when they wanted to cut things off.

“And it’s not you it’s me?” Jaida predicted.

“It’s a cliché, I know. But I have so much going on right now, that I really can’t date anyone, not just you. Jaida, I really do like you. A lot. In other circumstances, we would already be dating, but right now I can’t give you what you want. I understand if you don’t want to keep doing… what we’re doing. I will respect your decision either way.”

“No worries!” Jaida said happily, even though she felt like she was going to cry. “I’m totally fine with what we have.”

“Are you sure?”

“I promise.”

For the fourth year in a row, Jaida felt her heart break. She was left wondering if things were better had she taken Nicky for a ride in the Ferris wheel.

\-----

After her shift, Gigi sat at her desk sketching a dress. She felt her phone buzz. 

_can you come over_

_Yea. Everything all good?_

_no_

_I’ll be there in ten_

Gigi made the ten minute drive in five. Crystal answered the door. Her eyes were red, it was easy to tell that she’d been crying the past few hours. Her hair was disheveled, and she was wearing an oversized sweat shirt. “Come in.”

Wordlessly, Crystal led Gigi into her bedroom. All of her walls were hand painted beautifully, each wall with a different color scheme. Her room was slightly messy, but still somehow organized. A picture of Harry Styles hung above the bed. An easel was in the corner with an abstract painting. The closet door was propped open, exposing Crystal’s brightly colored clothing.

“Talk to me,” Gigi said said as she and Crystal sat on her bed. 

Crystal started crying as she sat down. “It’s Ryan.”

“What happened?"

“We started talking about me going off to college in a couple months. Usually when we talk about it, he won’t talk about it. Well, I needed answers... and I got them. He told me that if I didn’t stay home, he would break up with me.”

“Oh, Crystal.”

Gigi was pissed. She knew how hard Crystal worked to get into the graphic design program. The school they were to attend in the fall wasn’t easy to get into. It had a 50 percent acceptance rate. Crystal was too talented to let that go to waste. The audacity of that boy to ask her to throw that all away. She wanted to tell Crystal everything she was thinking, but instead, she held Crystal and stroked her hair.

“We’ve been together since we were fifteen. I don’t know how to live without him, you know?”

“Mmm.”

“I just love him so much, I don’t think I can leave him. I think I’m going to withdraw my application from Ferris.”

“Crystal, no. You can’t. You worked your ass off to get into that school. You know you did.”

“I know. But I love him.” Crystal rubbed her eyes, causing her sleeve to roll down, revealing a deep bruise.

Gigi gasped. “Did he do that to you?”

“He didn’t do it on purpose! He said I was being unreasonable, and he was right. He just needs to calm me down sometimes, you know?”

“No, Crystal. I don’t know. That’s not okay, under any circumstance. I don’t care if you cheated on him. That does _not_ give him the right to _ever_ put his hands on you.”

“I’m so stupid. It’s my fault. I shouldn’t have even applied to that school in the first place.”

“Absolutely none of this is your fault. Please don’t ever say that it is.”

Crystal sighed. “I think I need to stay here.”

“I think you’re wrong. But, what I do think is that Ryan’s bad for you.”

“How fucking dare you.” Crystal’s voice was harsher than Gigi had ever heard it. “You don’t know him like I do. He’s known me a hell of a lot longer than you have.”

“Crystal…” Gigi felt tears forming.

“No. Don’t start. You don’t understand what all we’ve been through. How could you? You could never understand because you’ve been alone your entire life. You can't let people in. Even me. You've been weird as shit every single day since the party, and won't tell me why. All you do is shut people out when they're trying to help you. Me, Jan, Jaida, Jackie... We've all tried to ask you what was wrong, because clearly something's wrong. You don't let people in, or you get fucking pissy. Why? It's not our faults that your dad fucking left. Stop taking it out on us."

Gigi sat completely stunned.

Crystal realized what she had said. “Gigi… I didn’t mean... I’m so sorry. I--”

“I think it’s time for me to go. Find your own ride to work, or walk your ass there. I don’t care. Don’t text me. Don’t fucking talk to me.”

“Gigi, wait!” Crystal called. But it was too late.

\--

On the drive home, Gigi felt her chest tighten and knew a panic attack was starting. Knowing she wouldn’t be able to drive, she pulled into a parking lot. All she could think of were Crystal’s words which cut her like a knife. Gigi knew that Crystal wasn’t a cruel person, and that it was all in the heat of the moment, but it didn’t matter. Gigi didn't even know where the words came from, why out of nowhere Crystal would bring up Gigi's behavior in that conversation, and she really didn't know why she brought her dad into it. 

Her phone lit up.

_gigi, i am so fucking sorry. idk where that came from. i don’t mean it. i hope you know that. that was fucked for me to say. so fucked. i understand if you don’t want to reply and need your space, but know that I am so fucking sorry, and ill never forgive myself for what i said. i can tell what i said really hurt you, and i understand if you dont want to talk, but just know if you ever do, i’m always here to listen_

Gigi started typing.

_Yeah, that WAS fucked. That fucking hurt me more than I could say. When I said my dad wasn’t a good person, I meant it. When I had my first girlfriend, I came out to my parents. My dad wanted to throw my ass out, and my mom wouldn’t let him, and said that it if I wasn’t out of the house, he was going to leave. My mom would never throw me out, so now he’s gone. It fucked with me. You wonder why I can't people let me in? That's why. I'm fucked up, and you’re right. I do need my space. Leave me alone._

She reread her response, and decided she didn’t owe Crystal an explanation, and deleted every word of the text.

\---

Crystal was laying on her bed looking up at the ceiling, which was painted like a galaxy. How could she be that cruel? Her words were volatile. Crystal didn't know the whole story. Even if she did, it wasn't right to bring it up, especially not like that.

She had to make it right. She sat on her phone, trying to formulate the perfect apology text. A text felt so impersonal, but Gigi hated talking on the phone, and hated Facetiming. Crystal knew that a text would be the best thing she could do. After rereading her text a few times, she hit _Send_.

Gigi was typing something. Something long. Crystal anxiously waited for her reply, but the three dots disappeared. Instead, she was left with _Read_.

The pain Crystal felt was stronger than anything before. It was worse than anytime Ryan laid his hands on her. It was worse than the time he cheated on her. It was worse than anything, and she had no idea how she was going to make it right.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I had to end it here! Unrelated, but I'm stuck with Wasteland, Baby. I have so many ideas, because it can go so many different ways, but like always, I'm having a hard time editing myself. So, if anyone would like to brainstorm with me, message me on here, or on @themetaluna on tumblr! I really don't want to abandon the story because I really do love it, but I am so so stuck. But, on the bright side, it's leading me to write an entire Jankie fic on the side.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As things are tense between Crystal and Gigi, Jan thinks that she has the perfect plan to bring them together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm finally back with another chapter! I actually wrote this three times because I wasn't happy with it. But, I had inspiration because National Roller Coaster day was a few days ago, and while this chapter doesn't take place all the way into August, it inspired me enough to write this chapter. Enjoy!

Crystal couldn’t sleep. All she could think about were the words she said that so deeply hurt Gigi. She didn’t know where they came from. They weren’t at all from a place of malevolence. It was as though the words came out and Crystal couldn’t stop them. Before she even realized what she had said, it was too late. She understood if Gigi didn’t forgive her, considering she wasn’t sure if she’d forgive her if the roles were reversed. After tossing and turning for hours, she looked at her phone. 6:30 A.M.

Since there was no point in sleeping for half an hour, she forced herself to get out of bed. Normally, she put on a full face of makeup. Today, she couldn’t even be bothered to do her eyebrows, opting instead to wear her thick rimmed glasses. Instead of her methodically done space buns, she threw up all her hair on top of her head without brushing it.

Walking to work was the last thing that she wanted to do, but her parents had to work, and she knew Ryan would still be mad. Right as she shut her door to embark on her walk, she heard a rumble of thunder. _Shit._

Even with an umbrella, by the time Crystal arrived to work, she was soaked. Crystal sighed as she put her damp backpack into her locker. She tried her best to wipe the raindrops off her glasses, but smudged them in the process, making them worse. Even though she knew it wasn’t a big deal, Crystal was at the point emotionally where every small occurrence felt like the end of the world. She felt tears form. As she wiped them away, she hoped to God no one saw.

“Hey, are you okay?” a voice asked kindly. It was Jan, who was standing next to Jackie.

_Shit._

“Yeah, I’m great!” Crystal could hear the fake enthusiasm dripping from her voice. “Just… something in my eye!”

“Sis, we know something’s wrong.”

Jackie agreed. “You don’t look like yourself. Let’s go sit.”

The second Crystal sat down, she started crying. Jan reached out to hold her hand. “Talk to us.”

Crystal sniffled. “I think Gi…one of my friends, hates me.”

“Why would she hate you?” Jackie asked. Crystal could tell that both Jackie and Jan caught wind that she almost said “Gigi.”

“I said some really nasty things during an argument. I mean low blows, things that no one should ever bring up, especially not during an argument.”

“Listen here, gorg. If your _friend_ really is your friend, she would understand. We all say stupid stuff that we don’t mean. I say stupid shit to Jackie every day and she still keeps me around.”

“Jan’s right. I’m sure if you apologize to your friend, she’ll forgive you.”

“Well, here’s the thing. I don’t deserve forgiveness. This is stuff that she told me in confidence. She trusted me with this information, and I literally threw it in her face.”

Crystal looked up and saw a skinny blonde out of the corner of her eye. She and Gigi locked eyes. Almost immediately, Gigi’s face turned from a neutral expression to one of malice.

By this point, Crystal was sure that Jan and Jackie figured out who she was talking about. “Gigi’s never going to want to talk to me again. Did you see the way she just looked at me?”

“Maybe it’s not what you think,” Jan said optimistically. “Maybe she just realized she forgot something. I’ll go talk to her.”

With that, Jan left Crystal confidently got up from the table and walked over to Gigi. Strategically, Jan made sure that the two of them were standing out of Crystal’s view.

“Jan, I’m not talking about this right now. Not here. Not now,” Gigi said firmly.

“But Crystal’s a wreck right now.”

“I don’t care.”

Jan was taken aback. “Okay, wow. I don’t know what happened between the two of you, frankly it’s not any of my business. But, something bad must have happened if you went from being hung up on her to not even being able to look at the girl. Right?”

“Be quiet! No one else knows I’m…” Gigi trailed of raising her eyebrows.

“Gotcha. But damn, whatever she said was a lot, wasn’t it?”

Gigi nodded. “I just don’t want to talk to her right now. I need time.”

“I respect that, and I’m sure she can too.”

The second Jan came back to the table, Crystal demanded, “What did she say?”

“She said she needed time.”

“Okay, but could you tell how much time?”

Jan shrugged. Crystal knew she looked pathetic, and she didn’t care. One way or another, she was going to make it right with Gigi. She cared way too much about her to give up.

\--

On her break, Gigi absentmindedly scrolled through Instagram. She felt her jaw clench as she saw a picture of Crystal and her boyfriend on a hike. She noticed how radiant Crystal looked at sunset. In the picture, Crystal was kissing Ryan’s cheek, and all Gigi could think of is how much she wished it was her. She mentally kicked herself for thinking that, because she was supposed to be mad at Crystal. If anyone knew how to hold a grudge, it was Gigi. She wanted nothing more than to be mad at Crystal, to completely shut her out. But, there was something about Crystal. Gigi couldn't bring herself to stay mad at her. As Gigi looked up she saw that Crystal was sitting at the table diagonal to her. They locked eyes for a moment, and looked away at the same time.

Even though she told Jan she didn’t want to talk to Crystal, Gigi knew it was a lie. She wanted nothing more than to run up to Crystal’s table and to talk about what happened. As she stole a glance at the redhead, Gigi saw Crystal stare at her phone intensely. After appearing to type a small novel, she tossed her phone on the table and laid her head in her hands.

Gigi looked down so as not to raise suspicion. Once a few seconds passed, Gigi deemed it an appropriate time to look up again. Gigi had never seen Crystal look so stressed, but when Gigi decided she was going to go talk to her, Crystal left in a hurry. Something was very wrong.

\--

Jan had a tendency to insert herself in her friend’s problems. It wasn’t her fault, she just wanted to help. If ever there was a time to help sort out friendship problems, it was now. Jan couldn’t stand to see Gigi any less than happy, and seeing Crystal without a smile on her face hurt. Jan promised Jackie she would stop “meddling” in her friend’s problems. But she had to step in. She had to, especially after Jackie told her horror stories of how friendships were ruined over petty drama each summer. Jan had a feeling this was a little more than petty drama, but she’d be damned if her friend group would get split up.

While she was in the bathroom fixing her eyeliner, Jan heard crying one of the bathroom stalls.

“Hello?” she called.

No one responded but whoever was crying tried their best to muffle them.

“Who’s in here?” she tried again.

Jan sauntered over to the bathroom door. She opened and then closed it, and waited. Eventually, Jan heard the stall door unlock, and as she heard the faucet turn on, she rounded the corner to see Crystal staring at herself in the mirror, eyes red and puffy.

“Crystal? What’s wrong?” Jan asked sympathetically.

“Just boyfriend stuff.”

“Do you want to talk about it?”

Crystal shook her head. “No.”

“Okay, well if you change your mind, you have my number.” Jan dramatically turned to leave. 

“Actually…”

“Yes?” Jan answered, turning around a little too quickly. Now was her chance to fix things.

“So, Ryan, my boyfriend, found out that I got really drunk at the party. He asked who got the alcohol, and I told him it was Gigi, and now he doesn’t want me to talk to her anymore.”

Jan raised an eyebrow.

“What?” Crystal questioned.

“Do you want me to sugarcoat it or do you want my honest opinion?”

“Can you sugarcoat it?”

“Actually. No. Crystal, that is the stupidest fucking shit I’ve ever heard in my goddamn life.”

Crystal flinched. “Damn, tell me how you really feel.”

“You can’t let a boy tell you what to do.”

“He’s not just a boy… he’s my boyfriend.”

“Crystal that’s even worse!” Jan exclaimed. “Never let a significant other tell you what to do.”

“I don’t want to make him mad!”

Jan looked down at the bruise on Crystal's arm, Instinctively, Crystal covered it with her hand. 

Jan groaned. “Crystal. Listen to me. If you let your boyfriend tell you how to live your life, you’re going to miss out on a lot.”

“But I love him,” Crystal whined.

“That may be so, but I can tell that you value your friendship with Gigi. Right?”

Crystal nodded.

“Okay, well you can’t ruin that.”

“I don’t know what to do.”

An idea formed. “I have an idea! Tomorrow’s National Roller Coaster Day.”

“And…?”

“And the park is staying open after close for all the employees to ride the rides. Me, Gigi, Jaida, and Nicky are all going together. You should come with us.”

Crystal hesitated. “I was going to hang out with my boyfriend. He’s gonna get mad if I cancel.”

“Come _on_ , Crystal. When else are you going to get to hang out in an empty park with all your friends? Besides, like I say, it’s better to ask forgiveness than permission.”

“I don’t know Jan…”

“Just think about it, okay?”

“I guess.”

“’I guess’ is better than ‘no,’” Jan said with a smile.

As she closed the bathroom door, Jan was confident that she was going to make things better.

\---

The next day, the excitement of the staff of Paradise Isle was palpable. Even for the rides staff who were working the event were excited, mainly for the overtime pay. As soon as 9 P.M. rolled around, the event was officially underway. Gigi had never seen the leads and supervisors clear the store so quickly.

As she and Jan headed to the bathroom, they planned everything they were going to do.

“I promised Jackie I’d bring her a funnel cake,” Jan said as she changed into a t-shirt with her future university’s logo. “It’s the least I can do since she’s working.”

“That can definitely be arranged,” Gigi said tucking her uniform into her backpack.

“Gigi…” Jan began.

“Yeah?” Gigi slung her backpack over her shoulder.

“I uh, may have told Crystal that she could join us.”

“You _what_?”

“I thought that it’d be a good idea. I thought that if we were in a group it wouldn’t be weird and you could maybe make up or something.”

“Oh, shit. This is bad. Jan… Why?” Gigi groaned.

“In hindsight, this was a horrible idea.”

“You think?” Gigi’s tone was harsh, which made Jan cringe. “I’m sorry.”

“No, I deserve that. I’m sorry. I should have ran it by you.”

Gigi sighed as they left the bathroom. “It’s what it is. It’s done now. Maybe you’re right.”

Nicky texted the Gigi that she and Jaida would be waiting for her and Jan at The Landing. After scanning the area for a moment, Gigi saw her friends and waved.

“Hey, bitches!” Jaida greeted with a hug.

“What’d you two do today on your day off?” Jan asked.

Nicky and Jaida just exchanged a look.

“Ah. 10-4,” Gigi said rolling her eyes.

“Is Crystal joining us?” Nicky asked.

“I sent her a text, let me see if she responded,” Jan said as she unlocked her phone. “Damn. She said she’s going hiking with her boyfriend, and that she wishes she could have come.”

“Well she could have,” Jaida said with an eyeroll.

Gigi didn’t say anything, but internally was filled with relief.

Everyone was having an incredible time. Not having to wait for more than ten minutes for anything made the rides even more fun. After riding Sinbad’s Adventure, which was the smallest of the three roller coasters in the park, three times in a row, Jan announced. “Ladies, I need a break.”

The others muttered in agreement, and made their way to a table.

“What’s our game plan?” Jaida questioned.

“Hmm,” Nicky began. “Do you want to do all the lame rides on The Boardwalk?”

“I could take lame right about now,” Jan said. “Plus I told Jackie I’d get her funnel cake.”

“Why did she decide to work?” Nicky asked.

“She wanted doubletime pay. Plus, she claimed that once you go to an after-hours event, the novelty wears off.”

Gigi rubbed her back. “Are you going to be okay?”

“Yes!” Jan sprung up. “Let’s go ladies.”

Gigi had to admit, the rides that Nicky called lame were some of her favorites. They brought upon a wave of nostalgia of when she and her sister used to come to the park every summer. The way all the carnival-style rides’ signs lit up made her heart soar.

Once they did all of the rides on The Boardwalk in record time, Nicky asked. “Jan, do you feel up to going on The Genie?”

Jan nodded. “Jackie texted me and told me if I didn’t bring her a funnel cake soon, she's going to eat her left foot.”

“We can’t let that happen!” Jaida said dramatically.

Gigi and Jan linked arms as they skipped to The Backlands. By the time they made it to the roller coaster, Gigi’s legs felt sore. She made a mental note that she’d have to make use of her university’s gym come fall.

“Baby!” Jan exclaimed as she saw Jackie at the greeter position.

“Gimme!” Jackie said as she snatched the funnel cake, taking a bite.

“Are you supposed to do that?” Nicky questioned.

“I’m your lead, how dare you speak to me like that!” Jackie said haughtily. “Nahh, literally no one gives a shit right now. I’m not even supposed to be standing here right now. Greeter isn’t a position that’s up right now.”

“Let’s ride in the front!” Jaida suggested.

“Oh, Jesus,” Jan groaned.

"We can ride in the second row," Gigi suggested.

The front was an extra cycle’s wait, but no one cared. As they waited, Gigi looked around, and in the fifth row Gigi saw familiar red hair in familiar spacebuns. She felt her stomach drop harder than the Jinn ever did.

Gigi felt her body tense, which Jan noticed. “Gigi, what--”

“Shit,” Nicky breathed. She and Jaida weren’t well-versed in the situation, but they both knew something was up with Gigi and Crystal.

Crystal was standing next to Widow, and her expression went from excited to deer-in-the-headlights. Gigi felt her heart pound. Did Crystal really hate her that much? If she didn’t want to see her, why didn’t she just say so? Gigi had so many questions, and knew she wasn’t going get answers to any of them. Without saying a word, she through the exit gate.

“Should we…” Jaida trailed off.

“I got it,” Jan said.

“Are you sure?” Nicky questioned.

Jan nodded. On her way out, she gave Crystal the nastiest look she’d ever given in her life and said, “You really fucked up. I hope you know that.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> as always follow me on tumblr @themetaluna


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> If anyone knows how to party, it's the staff of Paradise Isle. When Brita turns 21, she's determined to have the biggest party Paradise Isle has ever seen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, everyone! I'm back! I outlined the rest of this fic and decided it's going to be 10 chapters.

By the time Gigi made it down the exit ramp, all she wanted to do was leave. She heard Jan behind her, but kept moving forward. Her heart beat was pounding in her ears and she began to feel warm tears form in her eyes.

“Gigi, wait!” Jan called.

Gigi didn’t listen and instead kept walking. Jan managed to chase her all the way into The Landing until Gigi stopped dead in her tracks, rested her face in her hands and started crying. Wordlessly, Jan went up to her and wrapped her in a gentle embrace. Once Gigi broke away, Jan led them to a bench, and stayed quiet. She knew Gigi was about to explode at any second.

And she was right.

“How could she do that? What the hell? If she didn’t want to see me, she could have just fucking said something! I have no idea what the hell I did to her and why she’s acting the way she is, but I guess fuck my feelings! Right? Just fuck them!” Gigi threw her hands up in frustration before crying into Jan’s shoulder.

“Shh, it’s okay,” Jan cooed rubbing Gigi’s hair. She knew Gigi’s mascara was staining her shirt, but it was something she could worry about later.

“How could she?” Gigi’s voice was barely above a whisper.

“I don’t know, baby. There’s no way to know what’s running through her bizarre little head.”

Gigi wiped her eyes, trying to salvage what was left of her makeup. “I’m overreacting.”

“No, you aren’t. You need to feel whatever it is that you’re feeling. Your feelings are valid and you’re entitled to them,” Jan said firmly.

“I want to hate her.”

“Why?”

Gigi sighed. “I want to hate her, because that means I wouldn’t be in love with her anymore.”

“Wow,” Jan began. “I didn’t realize you were in that deep.”

“Jan, it’s bad.”

“Sounds like it.”

“If I could just hate her, I could be done and move on. I hate that when I see her pictures on Instagram with her shitty boyfriend, all I can do is think about how I wish it was me. I hate that she’s the first thing I think about when I wake up, and the last thing I think about when I go to bed. I just want to hate her.”

“Do you honestly believe do any good?” Jan questioned.

Gigi mulled it over and sighed. “No. What am I going to do?”

“I wish I knew what to tell you, Gigi, but I don’t. But, we can figure out what we’re doing tonight. Do you want to leave, or do you want to keep hanging out with everyone? After the look I gave her and what I said to her, I don’t think she’ll come anywhere near you anytime.”

Gigi looked stunned. “Jan what the hell did you tell her?”

“Don’t worry about it.” Jan winked.

“I’m not going to let her ruin my night.” Gigi’s tone was determined. “Let’s go.”

\--

Nicky and Jaida were awkwardly left behind in the queue. Since they were next, they ended up going on the roller coaster. Jaida had to admit, a roller coaster was a lot less fun when one of your friends was experiencing emotional trauma, even if you were in the front.

“Should we go find them?” Nicky asked as she grabbed her purse.

Jaida thought for a moment and said, “Honestly? I don’t want to make it worse. Gigi trusts Jan and I want Gigi to talk through all the emotional shit she’s feeling.”

“Good point.”

Jaida and Nicky made their way through The Backlands. Jaida knew that she had feelings for Nicky that Nicky didn’t share. Jaida also knew that every time they slept together, she felt herself falling a little harder. As much as Jaida didn’t want to break her own heart for her final summer at the park, she swore something felt different about Nicky.

As they walked, Jaida swung her hand forward making contact with Nicky’s to test her response.

“Sorry,” Nicky mumbled putting her hand closer to her side.

The response is not the one Jaida was looking for, which caused her to sigh.

Nicky slowed her pace. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.” Jaida forced a smile. “Just tired.”

“Gotcha.”

Jaida wondered how dense Nicky could be. Even though Jaida couldn’t be mad that Nicky didn’t return her feelings, it still frustrated her. While Jaida knew it was a horrible idea to keep going with their fling, she liked Nicky so much that she’d rather have her physically than not at all.

Or did she?

This wasn’t healthy for her mental state. Jaida had enough on her plate already. Between writing essay after essay for law schools throughout the country as well as working six days a week, Jaida was nearing her limit. As much as she tried to tell herself that her fling with Nicky helped her decompress, she knew that wasn’t the case. It made everything much, much worse. Before she could think on it further, she was interrupted by her phone vibrating with a text from Jan.

_so I honestly cant tell if gigi’s more hurt or pissed at crystal and honestly it really doesnt matter but she did say she wants to keep the night to keep going so I say let’s do it! we’re at the landing rn, where are you??_

Quickly, Jaida reiterated to Nicky the situation, and texted back, _Okay, good! We’ll meet you there._

The rest of the night was filled with memorable selfies, laughs that were mostly at the extent of Jan’s inability to ride roller coasters, and by the end of the night, Gigi felt great, and was determined to not let one person ruin what was already an incredible summer. 

Following National Roller Coaster Day, Jaida, Nicky, Jan, and Gigi bonded even further, and became inseparable. Through hanging out with Jan, Gigi also developed a very close bond with Jackie. Gigi never had a group of friends before, and was thankful she had such an amazing group of friends.

Gigi formed such a close bond with her friends that she all but forgot about Crystal. At times, they ran into each other in the break room, and every time, they didn’t so much as look at each other. While the environment was tense, there was never any negativity. No one was outwardly mean to each other. In fact, everyone but Gigi maintained being friendly with Crystal. Gigi couldn’t allow this to upset her, since they were all adults and could choose their friends. At times though, it did feel like a punch in the gut when Gigi was on her breaks and saw Jan stop to talk to Crystal.

One day, Gigi sat in the breakroom. As she at her lunch, Brita sat across from her.

“Hey, Brita,” Gigi greeted.

“As you know, my birthday is drawing near.”

All Brita talked about was how she was going to turn twenty one in a couple of weeks. Everyone knew it was Brita’s birthday, including people who didn’t even know Brita.

“So I’ve heard!”

“My parents are actually going to be out of town. So, I’m going to have a party. Not just any party. No, this party is going to be so big and so memorable that they’ll be talking about this like five summers from now.”

Gigi raised an eyebrow. “Yeah?”

Brita nodded. “I’m inviting literally everyone I know who works here…”

Gigi caught on to what Brita was saying. Even the people who weren’t well versed in what happened between Gigi and Crystal knew something was wrong. “That’s fine, Brita. I’m not going to let my relationship, or lack thereof, with someone ruin your birthday.”

“Good. It’s this Wednesday, starting at 10. That way everyone has time to get ready after work. Thank god for shortened park hours.”

The scheduling gods smiled upon Jaida, Nicky, Gigi, and Jackie. Somehow they all ended up with the same days off, one of which being Friday. It helped that Jaida always sweet talked the scheduler, and the scheduler knew who her friends were. Jaida wasn’t about using her feminine charm to get what she wanted.

The girls all agreed to get ready at Gigi’s, because she had the largest space. Getting ready with others was much more fun for Gigi than getting ready alone. Although, she had to admit it was a different feeling when she and Crystal got ready together for Heidi’s party. She forced that thought out of her head as she put on an 80’s playlist. Deciding what to wear to a party was Gigi’s favorite part of getting ready. Even if she didn’t want to admit it, she wanted this party to be the exact opposite as the previous party. Because of this, Gigi opted to wear a tight orange halter top with an blue high-waisted shorts, which was the exact opposite of her black and white outfit.

“You look like your room,” Jan teased eyeing Gigi's room decor. 

Gigi rolled her eyes. “It’s not my fault that my two favorite colors look amazing on me.”

“Fair,” Jaida mused as she rummaged through her bag. “Shit. I forgot my eyelash glue.”

Nicky, who was sitting cross-legged on the ground blending out a smoky eye tossed hers to Jaida. “Here.”

“Thank you,” Jaida smiled sweetly expertly applying an eyelash.

Jackie looked on incredulously. “I have no idea how you do it.”

“Lots and lots of practice,” Jaida said as she batted her eyelashes in Jackie’s direction.

“Do you ever wear more than mascara and eyeliner in your waterline?” Nicky questioned, admiring her appearance in a hand mirror.

Jackie shook her head. “I just… don’t know how to do anything else. One time I tried to do wings and it looked like a drunk toddler did them. No wait, a drunk toddler would have done better."

Jan’s face brightened. “Can I please do your makeup? _Please_?”

After hesitating, Jackie said, “What the hell. Why not?”

Jan squealed as she made her way over to Jackie, who was sitting in the chair at Gigi’s desk. Watching Jan do Jackie’s makeup made Gigi feel a pang of jealousy. All through high school, she’d never had the desire to date. Of course, she definitely didn’t want a boyfriend. But, she never thought about having a girlfriend either, and only knew that she liked girls. She also never had a friend group like the one she had now. She also never thought she’d have a group of friends she could trust as much as she trusted the friends she made. For once in her life, Gigi felt safe enough to come out. Other than her family, Jan was the only person who knew, and the only reason she’d told Jan in the first place was because she was about to have a mental breakdown. But, it was time. Gigi paused the playlist.

“Everything okay, Gigi?” Nicky questioned.

Gigi took a breath. “Yes, but there’s something I have to tell all of you.”

Jan locked eyes with Gigi, already knowing what she was going to say.

“What is it?” Jaida asked setting down her brush.

“I like girls.”

Jaida ran to Gigi to give her a hug. “We love you.”

Jan laughed. “Welcome to the club.”

As Gigi unpaused the music, she breathed a sigh of relief as she topped her nude lip with gloss.

“All done!” Jan announced as she brushed powder off of Jackie’s face.

Once Gigi saw Jackie, she exclaimed, “Oh, wow.”

Jackie was already an extremely beautiful girl, but Jan’s handiwork enhanced her features. Because she knew that Jackie wasn’t one for the extravagant, Jan stuck with neutrals that gave Jackie the most effortless no-makeup-makeup look. Gigi knew that Jan was a talented makeup artist, but the makeup she did on Jackie proved it, because it was the exact opposite of Jan’s colorful halo eye she did on herself.

“Holy shit! I look good.”

Jan rolled her eyes. “You always look good, baby.”

“Thank you,” Jackie said as she kissed Jan on the cheek.

“We must commemorate this momentous occasion,” Jaida said dramatically as she signaled everyone to come in for a group photo.

“You have to take it,” Nicky said. “You have the longest arms.”

Jaida rolled her eyes. “Always.”

Once there were a few photos they were all satisfied with Gigi looked at her phone. “If we need to make a liquor run, we should probably leave now.”

Everyone piled in to Gigi’s Jeep, the group was enthusiastically discussing the night ahead. On the way to the liquor store, Jaida, who was already twenty one, made a list of what she had to purchase.

“Y’all are gonna make me look like I have a drinking problem. You best be Venmo-ing me interest,” she teased.

“We don’t have interest in France, I don’t know what that is,” Nicky joked.

Jaida playfully hit her. “You’ve lived here for over ten years.”

Nicky shushed her. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Jesus Christ, just kiss already,” Gigi teased as she pulled into the liquor store’s parking lot.

Once Jaida was inside the store, Jan spoke up. “What’s actually going on between you two?”

Nicky shrugged. “Just something for us to blow off some steam.”

Jackie hesitated. “Nicky, you realize that Jaida’s never had a girlfriend before.”

“Yeah, and?”

“She also falls really hard really quickly.”

Nicky exhaled. “She never told me that. She told me that she was good keeping it casual. She tried to bring it up a while ago, but I just thought… I feel terrible."

“It’s not your fault, honey,” Jan said.

Before Nicky could respond, Jaida returned to the car.

“That was fast,” Gigi said.

“I’ve been to that store so many times, I know where everything is.”

Gigi had heard from other people that Brita had a large house, but she didn’t expect it to be quite so big. The driveway which was lined with cars spanned the length of most people’s front yards. The house looked to be three stories and was a modern build, which was a contrast to the other ranch-style houses in the area. The music could be heard from outside of the house, and Gigi mused about how Brita was lucky that she had no neighbors.

“Damn,” Gigi said as she shut her car door.

“Yeah,” Jaida began. “Brita’s parents are fucking loaded.”

“Clearly,” Jan said.

The inside of the house was just as grandiose as the outside. Gigi thought that it looked like the sample rooms inside of furniture stores. She didn’t realize that people’s houses actually could look like that. The living room was decorated with fairy lights and streamers, and in the corner were two gold balloons that said _21_. The party was already abuzz, the entirety of the first floor was full of people, most of which Gigi didn’t recognize, and was almost certain Brita probably didn’t either.

Brita greeted them at the door, pulling them into a hug. Gigi could already smell the alcohol. “Hi, babes!”

“Happy birthday, bitch!” Jaida exclaimed handing Brita a fifth of Everclear.

Brita’s laugh was loud enough that it could be heard over the music. “You rotted bitch.”

“On our first season together, Brita drank way too much Everclear and got super hungover, and had to call out the next day,” Jaida explained. “You best be getting that drunk again tonight. If I see you at work tomorrow, I'm going to be pissed."

“I have tomorrow off,” Brita said smugly.

“You’re going to need it,” Jan teased.

“Thanks! So over there we have a photobooth, beer pong in the dining room, the pool’s available if you want, too. Oh, and if you need a place to get down and dirty,” she looked at Nicky and Jaida. “Just don’t use my bedroom.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Jaida said, rolling her eyes.

As everyone was about to explore, Brita screeched, “Wait!”

“What?” Gigi asked.

“Let’s do a shot of this.” Brita raised the bottle of Everclear.

“Oh dear, God,” Jackie said making gagging noises.

“It’s my birthday, bitches!”

Since nobody could argue with that, they went in to the kitchen. In the attached dining room, an intense game of beer pong was going down with Widow and Heidi against Crystal and some boy Gigi vaguely recognized as being one of the team leads in games. Trying to stay casual, Gigi waved to Heidi and Widow who smiled in return. Thankfully, Crystal’s back was turned to Gigi, and by the time she turned, Gigi had her back turned to take the shot.

“I’m already too drunk to pour the shots,” Brita slurred.

Jaida rolled her eyes as she took the bottle and expertly poured shots.

“To Brita!” Gigi said raising her glass.

“To Brita!” Everyone repeated as they toasted, set the shot on the table, and took the shot.

Gigi thought she was good at taking shots. But, Gigi had also never had Everclear. Convinced that its reputation preceded it, she didn’t properly prepare herself. She thought she was just taking a shot of cheap vodka, not a shot of rubbing alcohol.

“ _Merde_!” Nicky exclaimed.

Jackie set her glass down as she winced. “That was so bad, Nicky forgot how to speak English!”

Because she couldn’t get the taste of shitty vodka out of her mouth, the only thing Gigi could do was to drink something else. The Whiteclaw Jaida bought for her tasted like juice in comparison, so much so that Gigi drank it a lot faster than she should have.

As Gigi felt the alcohol hit, Jan said, “Let’s go take pictures.”

Most of the time, Gigi found photobooths to be tacky. They were a staple of boring weddings and basic-ass graduation parties. But, because she already had a nice buzz going, she gladly posed with oversized sunglasses. 

Everyone sat on a red leather couch as they began drinking. Jan and Jackie shared a bottle of rum that they chased with Diet Coke. Jaida was chasing her Jack with ginger ale. Nicky, on the other hand, was shooting whiskey like there was no tomorrow. Gigi felt lame that everyone else wad drinking liquor but her, but she didn’t care. She wanted to enjoy what she was drinking.

When a Madonna song began playing, the girls screeched and made their way to the dancefloor. Gigi had decent rhythm, but tonight, as far as she was concerned, she was killing it. As she dropped low, she almost fell, but kept her balance as she made her way back up. While she watched Jackie and Jan dancing closely and watched Nicky grind against Jaida, Gigi couldn't help but feel like a fifth wheel. She remedied the situation by cracking open another Whiteclaw. 

“I need a break,” Nicky announced when the song ended.

Jan whispered something in Jackie’s ear before saying, “We’ll be back!”

“May I have this dance, Ms. Hall?” Gigi asked holding her hand out.

“Oh, bitch, you know it.”

After a few songs, Gigi announced, "I'll be back!"

It was the time of the night that Gigi needed to break her seal. Unfortunately for her, there was a line for the bathroom. She dramatically jumped up and down until she made it to the bathroom. Once she finished, she was greeted by a sobbing Jaida.

“Jaida, what the fuck is wrong?” Gigi asked leading her into a bedroom upstairs.

“Nicky,” Jaida managed.

“What about Nicky?”

“I went to go find her to see if she wanted to dance or something, but then… I saw her… and I saw Brita. On the couch… making out.”

It was very clear that Jaida had too much to drink. For a while, Gigi was convinced that this year would break the streak of Jaida getting her heart broken. Even though Gigi wanted to give Jaida some tough love and tell her she and Nicky weren’t exclusive, she knew it wasn’t the time for that. Instead, she wrapped her in a hug.

“Hey,” Gigi said stroking Jaida’s hair. “It’s okay.”

“I knew that she didn’t want a relationship. Why does this hurt so much?”

“Because you like her, clearly a lot.”

“Why does this always happen?” Jaida wailed.

Gigi knew she wasn’t good at comforting people, but decided to try her best. “I don’t know. But Jaida, your makeup is far too pretty to cry it all off.”

Hoping that Jaida would find her comment funny, Gigi tried to laugh. This only made Jaida cry harder. _Fuck._ Gigi knew she wasn’t any good at any of this, but she knew who was. She needed to find Jan before Jaida lost her mind.

“I’ll be back,” Gigi said leaving a sobbing Jaida in the bedroom.

Gigi searched the entire first floor for Jan with no luck. Eventually, she ran into Jackie. 

“Gigi, what the hell is happening? Jaida’s apparently crying, Nicky left… What’s going on?” Jackie demanded.

“I guess Jaida found Brita and Nicky making out.”

Jackie groaned. “Of course Because why would she be able to make it a summer without getting her pretty little heart broken?”

When Jackie and Jan made their way back in the bedroom, Jaida was right where Gigi left her.

“Do you know where Jan is?” Gigi questioned as Jackie was hugging a very distraught Jaida.

“I think she’s outside.”

“If anyone knows how to handle this, it’s her,” Gigi said as she walked downstairs. 

Gigi realized just how drunk she was as she stumbled around trying to find Jan. Eventually, she found her comforting some random drunk girl. To Gigi's horror, the random drunk girl ended up being Crystal. 

“Uh, I need you,” Gigi said awkwardly walking to Jan. 

Jan looked at Gigi and mouthed, “Help me,” as she broke away from Crystal. “What’s up, gorg?”

Crystal awkwardly stood next to Jan, swaying back and forth. Gigi couldn't help but wonder how much Crystal had to drink.

“It’s Jaida.”

“Oh my God, I haven’t seen Jaida in _ages_ ,” Crystal slurred.

Jan shushed Crystal. “What’s wrong with her?”

“She found Nicky making out with Brita,” Gigi explained.

Jan groaned. “This is bad.”

“That’s really not good. Are they fighting?” Crystal tried as hard as possible to not slur her speech. “Fighting is _bad_.”

Rolling her eyes, Jan said, “Yes, honey. Fighting is bad. Really bad."

Crystal stumbled toward Gigi. “Gigi, I’m really sorry we’re fighting.”

Gigi ignored her. “Jan, can you do that thing where you comfort people when they’re crying?”

“I can try,” Jan said.

“Gigi! Stop ignoring me. We’re fighting! And I don’t want us to!” Crystal pouted.

“Crystal, we can discuss this when you’re sober,” Gigi said firmly.

“I’m sober enough!” Crystal said jumping up and down. She then stopped and put one hand over her mouth and one on her stomach.

“Crystal. No!” Gigi screeched.

It was too late. Crystal lost all the alcohol she’d consumed. Jan reacted quickly enough to take a step back, but Gigi wasn’t that lucky. Gigi screamed as her favorite boots became covered in vomit.

"What the _fuck_?!" Gigi screamed. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry! This chapter ended up kind of being a mostly filler chapter, but don't worry! It'll get better xoxo  
> Thank you for reading and always, follow me on tumblr @themetaluna


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lots of regrets were had at Brita's party, and now everyone has to face them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, everyone! Not much to say other than that this fic is completed in my Google Docs and I'm just waiting a few days to post the last two chapters! Enjoy.

Gigi wanted nothing more than to call out of work the next morning. Her head pounded as she squeezed her eyes shut. The thought of possibly facing Crystal mortified her, even though Gigi knew that if anyone should be embarrassed, it should be Crystal. She covered her face with her blankets until and laid in bed until she was almost late.

The entire car ride to work, Gigi felt like a zombie as she downed a bottle of ginger ale as though her life depended on it. When she made it into the breakroom, she felt less alone as she looked at everyone around who looked equally exhausted, including Jan who was sitting at a table with oversized sunglasses on across from Jackie, who had her head on the table.

“Morning, sunshine,” Jan greeted.

Gigi grunted as acknowledgement as she sat down.

“Have you seen Jaida anywhere?” Jackie asked.

“I just got here. Why?”

“It’s just that usually she beats us here, and she’s nowhere to be found,” Jackie explained scanning the breakroom.

“Let me text her,” Jan said.

Jaida usually took her time to text people back, but this time she texted back almost instantly.

Jan frowned. “She called in sick.”

“Jaida Hall? Calling in sick?” Gigi questioned. “She bragged that she hasn’t missed a day in her four years.”

Jan shrugged. “I don’t know.”

“Do you think it’s about Nicky?” Jackie whispered.

“No idea,” Gigi replied. As she looked around the breakroom, she saw Nicky at her locker. “Why don’t you go ask her yourself?”

“I think I will,” Jackie said rising from the table.

Jackie was never one to get involved with people’s business, even though Jan would insist something like this is was just being a friend. Either way, Jackie tended to stick to herself when it came to matters like these. Nicky had her Airpods in and was looking down, and didn’t notice Jackie at first.

“Jackie, hi,” Nicky said as she put her purse in her locker.

“Hey,” Jackie greeted. “So about last night…”

Nicky slammed her locker shut, causing Jackie to jump. “I already feel like shit, Jackie. I don’t know what else to say. Jaida and I weren’t exclusive, we already talked about it. I know that you said she catches feelings easy, but I had too much to drink to think about that… I really hurt her, didn’t I?”

Jackie led Nicky to a table. “What’s going on in that pretty little head of yours?”

“I’m thinking about how I think Jaida is an incredible girl, and how she deserves the world. I’m also thinking about how I can’t give it to her, at least not right now, and how frustrated that makes me. She deserves the happiness and I’m just not emotionally available to do that.”

“Why can’t you give it to her?”

Nicky sighed. “I’ve been through a lot of shit. I don’t like to talk about it, but a lot of shit went down before I moved to America, like I moved here for a reason. Since I can’t commit to someone without freaking out, I settle for fucking them and never speaking to them again. I don’t know _how_ to be in a relationship. So when Jaida, the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen, came around of course I wanted to hook up with her. I knew she wanted more, but she swore that it was okay to just keep on with what we were doing. I got too drunk at Brita’s and made some bad decisions. I don’t know what else to say. I just don’t want her to hate me. I care about her too much for that.”

“I doubt she hates you. I’m sure she’ll talk about it with you.”

“Where is she?” Nicky questioned.

“She called in sick.”

“Holy shit. She never calls in. I really, really fucked up.”

“You don’t know that,” Jackie offered. “Besides, you don’t have anything to apologize for. I love Jaida, I do, with all my heart. But she doesn’t think sometimes, and no offense to you, you will flirt with anything with a pulse, which she already knew.”

Nicky shrugged. “Can’t even argue with that one.”

“Are you still down to go to the park tomorrow with me and Jan?”

“Yes, if you don’t think that things will be awkward.”

“I think they’ll be just fine,” Jackie said.

The next morning, Jaida had a feeling of unease in the pit of her stomach as she got ready. She knew she was excited to get to hang out with her friends, but the thought of seeing Nicky made her feel nervous. Jaida wasn’t sure if she was mad at Nicky, or if she was mad at herself. How could she be so stupid to let herself fall so hard again? Especially with Nicky of all people. She promised Jackie and herself that it wasn’t going to happen again, but just like always, didn’t make good on that promise.

Normally when Jaida was in the car, her music was blaring. Today, though, she made the drive silently. She knew she didn’t want to be a bitch to Nicky, but she also knew that she had a habit of not being able to hide her facial expressions. Thankfully, she could hide half of her face behind her Rayban’s.

By the time she made it to The Landing, Jan, Jackie, and Nicky were all waiting for her.

“Want to start with Sinbad’s?” Jackie asked.

Jaida smiled. "I'm excited."

“So excited,” Jan said sarcastically.

The walk to The Backlands started silently. Jackie, Jan, and Nicky all walked next to each other while Jaida was walking behind them. The tension could be cut with a knife, which was unacceptable to Jan.

“So how’s everyone doing today?” Jan was met with silence. “Can we believe that the operating season is almost over? Like what even?”

Jackie decided to take the bait. “Do you think you’re going to come back next summer, Jan?”

“Of course I am!” she said excitedly. “Nicky?”

Nicky shrugged. “I don’t know.”

“We all know Miss Jaida’s onto bigger and better things.” Jaida knew Jan had the tendency to word vomit when there was an awkward silence, but this was excessive. 

“Thanks, Jan,” Jaida said.

“How’s the law school stuff been going?”

“It’s been going. I’ve had a lot of… _distractions_ , though,” Jaida said, looking at Nicky to see if she caught on to what distractions she meant.

Nicky’s body tensed.

“Distractions?” Jackie asked. “Like what?”

“Oh. Just some stuff here and there, but I’m over them now,” Jaida said coolly as Nicky remained tense and began to walk ahead of the group.

“Be nice,” Jackie hissed.

Jaida knew she was being a bitch, and she knew her behavior wasn’t fair to the group. It definitely wasn’t fair to Nicky. Jaida was almost twenty-two, and here she was, playing games as though she was still in high school. She knew she had to stop playing games with people and to take accountability. Jan sped walk ahead of Jackie and Jaida and started talking to Nicky. They spoke quietly enough that Jaida wasn’t sure what they were talking about.

There was no way that Jaida could just let the situation fester any longer. She valued Nicky too much for that. She stopped walking as an idea formed. “Can we go to The Boardwalk?”

“Why?” Jackie asked.

“Because I want to ride the Ferris wheel.”

Jan and Jackie exchanged looks before looking at Nicky.

“The Ferris wheel?” Nicky questioned.

“Yes. Have you rode it yet?”

“Nope.”

Jaida pursed her lips. “Well this Ferris wheel’s a lot more… memorable than most.”

“Oh shit,” Jan exclaimed. “I told Gigi I’d bring her food on her break. Jackie, are you going to come with me? You have to bring her that… thing, right?”

“What do you…” Jan made an exasperated facial expression at Jackie. “Ah, yeah! The thing! I’ll come with you!”

Thankfully, for Jaida, they hadn’t made it to the back of the park, so the walk to The Boardwalk wasn’t long. Heart beating fast, Jaida made her way into the cabin of the Ferris wheel. She could do it. Every summer she was brought to the Ferris wheel to get her heart broken. This time was going to be different. Jaida knew she wasn’t going to break Nicky’s heart by any means, but she had to admit being in the place of power for once felt nice.

Jaida smiled weakly. “Nicky, I need to talk to you about something.”

“Jaida, I am so fucking sorry. You have no idea how much I regret kissing Brita--”

The regret in Nicky’s voice was dripping to the point Jaida felt guilty for ever getting mad at Nicky. “Nicky, no. Don’t. We weren’t exclusive. I just was drunk and got mad and freaked out.”

Nicky breathed a sigh of relief. “So we’re good?”

Jaida nodded. She didn’t expect this conversation to go so easily. “Also…”

“Yes?”

“So… I really like hooking up with you. Like, really like it.”

Nicky smiled. “Me, too.”

“But,” Jaida said as Nicky’s smile faded away. “It’s not good for me. It’s not good for my mental health. I’m going through a _lot_ right now. This is one of the most important periods of my life. I’ve wanted to go to law school since I was eight, and I’m not going to let anything get in the way of that.”

“And that’s good.”

“Which is why we have to end things.”

Nicky chose her words carefully. “I can respect that. When I said I’d respect whatever you wanted to do, I meant it.”

“Really?” Jaida had always been suspicious on whether or not Nicky meant that.

“Yes. Jaida, first and foremost, I appreciate our friendship. Not going to lie, I’m going to miss the sex,” she laughed. “But, I want you to succeed in life, and I don’t want to be the reason that your dreams don’t come true.”

“Thank you.”

“Why did you bring me up here to tell me that, anyway? It seems a bit dramatic.”

“It’s a tradition,” Jaida explained. “Anytime anyone has any grievances with anyone else, they sort it out on the Ferris wheel. It ends with things being resolved, someone storming off angrily, or someone running away crying. I’ve been brought up here by girls a lot.”

“How many times?”

“It doesn’t matter. I’m always the one that runs away crying,” Jaida said bluntly.

“Well I’m glad that we could resolve this. If you cried, I wouldn’t know what to do.”

“I’m glad, too,” Jaida said as she stepped out of the cabin.

When Nicky disembarked, she couldn’t help but feel a twinge of sadness.

 _In another life,_ she thought. 

While they were on the Ferris wheel, Jaida got a text from Jan that she and Jackie were headed back to The Landing. After some searching, Jaida and Nicky saw Jan and Jackie with Gigi.

“It doesn’t look like you’re stocking. Get back to work, ma’am!’ Jaida said firmly in her team leader voice.

“Yes, Mom,” Gigi said. “Anyway, yeah like I was saying, they’re being terrible to her. And like, yeah I’m still pissed about a lot of stuff, but no one deserves that.”

“Deserves what?” Nicky asked.

Gigi sighed. “Everyone’s making fun of Crystal for what happened at Brita’s party. Everyone’s calling it Vomitgate.”

Nicky stifled a laugh. “I’m sorry. That’s awful.”

“There’s no way she’s taking this very good right now. I feel like I should say _something_ ,” Gigi said.

“You could take her up in the Ferris wheel,” Jaida suggested.

“Wait, what?”

“Ooh, I wanna tell it!” Jan said enthusiastically. “Anytime anyone has any grievances to air out, romantic trysts to talk about, or if someone’s just being a straight up hoe, you take that person up to the Ferris wheel… You talk it out and it ends in… What is it you always say, Jaida?”

“Either things get resolved, someone storms of angrily, or someone runs away crying,” Jaida finished smiling at Nicky.

“Why did I not know about this?” 

“Well,” Jackie began. “It’s kind of like the first rule of Fight Club. You don’t randomly talk about the Ferris wheel to talk about it. You find out about it when you need to talk to someone, or someone needs to talk to you.”

“And this has been going on for how long?” Gigi asked. 

“My older sister said it’s been going around since she worked here and that was like ten years ago,” Jaida said.

Jan shook her head. “Damn. Gigi, are you going to talk to her about the other stuff?”

Gigi bit her lip. “I don’t know. That’s why I’m hesitant because I feel like if we talk it can’t be some of it, it has to be all of it, you know?”

“You can always give it a day and see how you feel,” Jackie offered.

Gigi nodded. “I like that. I’m going to sleep on it.”

“Now get back to work!” Jaida said as she walked away, turning her head to give Gigi a smile.

“Yes, Mom.”

The rest of the day was amazing, way better than Jaida could have ever hoped. Part of her thought she was going to storm off angrily from the Ferris wheel, and another part thought she’d cry. She never thought she’d walk off with her problems resolved. If anything, she felt closer to Nicky.

The girls rode all three of the coasters in The Backlands, much to Jan’s dismay. Once they got off, Jan announced. “I’m gonna be sick. I have to sit.”

“Let’s go to Boardwalk. We’re almost there and there’s tables,” Jackie suggested gently putting a hand on Jan’s back to guide her. “Jaida, Nicky? Don’t worry about coming with, go have fun.”

“Are you sure you’re going to be okay, Jan?” Jaida asked.

Jan nodded. “I think so.”

With that, Nicky and Jaida took off in the other direction toward The County Fair.

Jan shakily made her way to The Boardwalk onto a bench. After sitting for a few minutes, she tried to get up and said, “I think I’m okay.”

“Don’t stand up,” Jackie said. “I’m going to go get you some Gatorade. It doesn’t help that you haven’t drank anything today. Hydrate or dydrate.”

“At this point, I’d rather dydrate,” Jan said resting her head in her hand dramatically.

Jackie returned with a blue bottle of Gatorade, which handed to Jan. “Drink this.”

‘I don’t want to,” Jan whined.

“Honey, please just drink it.”

Jan raised an eyebrow. “’Honey?’ That’s new.”

Jackie felt the blood rush to her face. “Do you not like it…?”

“No, no no!” Jan said urgently. “I think it’s so cute, you have no idea. You just didn’t seem like the pet name type.”

“I didn’t think I was,” Jackie admitted as she sat next to Jan.

“It’s so sweet,” Jan said resting her hair on Jackie’s shoulder who put her arm around her shoulder in response.

Jackie quickly glanced around to see if anyone was near before lightly pecking Jan on the lips. “Okay, honey.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Find me on tumblr @themetaluna


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the day from Hell, Crystal and Gigi have an important conversation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi hello! I'm back! The second to last chapter... I can't believe it. Anyway, a thank you to Juno for beta-reading for me. Enjoy, loves!

Being a happy person is something that Crystal prided herself in. No matter what, she always tried to have a positive outlook on life, even when Ryan was bad to her, or when her parents weren’t around. She could always look on the bright side of life.

That was until she and Gigi fought. She’d never felt such negativity in her eighteen years. Just when she thought it couldn’t get any worse, Brita’s party happened, which led to Vomitgate. Vomitgate was singlehandedly the worst thing that had ever happened to her social life. Now, she couldn’t go to work without someone whispering about her in the breakroom. Everywhere she went, someone was there to make her feel embarrassed, usually people she didn’t even know.

While she sat in the breakroom, she saw a girl that Gigi worked with, whose name she thought to be Dahlia, whispering to some girl Crystal didn’t recognize. The moment Crystal looked in their direction, the other girl shushed Dahlia and they both laughed.

Finally she had enough.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” Crystal demanded.

“Excuse me?” the girl asked coolly.

“I know you and everyone else in this fucking park is talking shit about me.”

Dahlia rolled her eyes. “We’ve got good reason to.”

“Are you _kidding_ ? You can’t tell me you haven’t been messy at some point. In fact, I’ve heard stories. I _know_ you’re messy.”

Dahlia sat dumbfounded as Crystal turned her back.

“Hey, girl,” Heidi said as she sat across from Crystal.

Crystal grunted in acknowledgement.

“Don’t pay attention to them.”

“What’s wrong with them?” Crystal whined.

“I don’t know. I know for a fact Miss Dahlia over there definitely got sick at my party and completely missed the toilet,” Heidi said staring at Dahlia, making sure she’d heard every word.

As Crystal lay her head on the table, groaning dramatically, she felt her phone buzz. 

_Gigi._

Heidi saw the shock on Crystal’s face. “It’s not your boyfriend, is it?”

She shook her head. “Gigi.”

Raising an eyebrow, Heidi said, “Oh, shit. What’s it say?”

Crystal read the text aloud to Heidi.

_Hey. I know youve been going through it, and that really sucks. Id like to talk things through if youre down_

Crystal’s thumbs couldn’t move fast enough.

_oh my god its so good to hear from you. yea things have been Awful… i definitely wanna talk when are you free??_

“She wants to talk about things,” Crystal said to Heidi, as she feverishly tapped her fingers on the table anxiously awaiting Gigi’s response.

_Okay awesome! Im soft closing tonight, so Im off at 8. Games is off at 8 at the latest right? Meet me at the ferris wheel._

“Wait, why does she want to meet at the Ferris wheel?” Crystal asked, looking up from her phone to Heidi.

“The grand tradition,” Heidi said dramatically. “Anytime there’s any grief with two people at the Isle, you take a ride on the Ferris wheel to talk it out. Mainly because the two of you are stuck together, so you either sit awkwardly or talk through your shit.”

“That’s… weird. Okay.” 

Crystal quickly typed up a response.. 

_ill be there!!!!_

Crystal felt relieved. Things were finally turning around. Or so she’d hoped.

Later on, Crystal’s shift at the ring toss game was interrupted by a middle-aged mother’s tirade at not winning a single time. “Can’t I just buy the prize?”

Normally Crystal was sympathetic, but considering it was the third time that day and she was already having a terrible day, her responses were short, much like her temper. “No. You have to win the game.”

“You’re ruining my little Lucy’s day!” the woman motioned to her little devil spawn.

“Sorry,” Crystal mumbled.

“I know you probably don’t give a fuck and probably don’t even want to be here, but you’re literally ruining our vacation! We paid good money to be here and now I can’t even win this fucking game? Are you serious?”

Crystal shrugged as she accidentally let out the yawn she was holding in. 

“Young lady, you are being extremely rude!”

“I can call my supervisor if you want,” Crystal offered, taking the radio off her belt.

“No. I’m going straight to guest relations.”

“It’s to your left as you leave the park.”

Just as the woman turned to leave, the woman turned around and spat in Crystal’s face. At first, Crystal was in such a state of shock she didn’t realize what happened. By the time she processed it, she let out a scream. 

Thankfully, Widow stopped the woman from leaving as Ben called Brooke who came out to handle the situation almost instantly. Before long, there were two security guards who came to escort the angry woman and her child out of the park.

Just as on her first day, Brooke comforted Crystal. “Are you okay, honey?”

Hot tears ran down Crystal’s face as she shook her head. “No.”

“Let’s get you out of here.”

Brooke led Crystal back into the money room. As Brooke gave Crystal a bottle of water, the floodgates opened. Every single negative emotion Crystal had been feeling the past couple of months rose to the surface. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d cried this hard.

“Let it out, honey,” Brooke rubbed Crystal’s shoulders.

“I’m sorry,” Crystal apologized. “I’m sorry you’re stuck taking care of me again.”

Brooke smiled compassionately. “I like taking care of you all. It’s kind of why I do this.”

Crystal wiped her eyes. “Really?”

She nodded and hesitated before she continued. “I feel like there’s something else going on. Being spat on is disgusting, but I feel like just from what I’ve seen with you interacting with guests and just in general, you aren’t yourself right now, are you?”

This only made Crystal cry harder.

“Deep breaths. Talk to me.”

Once she caught her breath, Crystal told Brooke everything. Starting from her fight with Gigi, ending with Vomitgate, she put everything on the table.

“Vomit…gate?” Brooke questioned. “Okay. Well. That’s terrible. I’m sorry your peers are being so immature. I can try to say someth--”

“No!” Crystal shouted. “Sorry… I mean… that’s not necessary.”

“Don’t worry about it. Also, Crystal, every season I feel like there’s a new host who just has the worst luck with guests, and it’s always the gentlest souls, too. I’m sorry to say that it’s you this season.”

“Oh fucking great,” Crystal muttered. “Sorry.”

“I don’t fucking care if you swear,” Brooke said laughing. “But, because that woman did spit on you, which is considered as an act of violence. So, I’m going to need to take you to HR and you’re going to have to file a report.”

Brooke immediately saw the panic on Crystal’s face.

“You aren’t in trouble, not by any means, Crystal. It’s just to make sure that this is on record. Do you want to press charges?”

Immediately, Crystal shook her head. “No. That’s okay.”

“Are you sure?”

Crystal nodded. 

Once Crystal managed to stop crying, Brooke grabbed a Kleenex to fix Crystal’s makeup, and led them to the HR building. Crystal hadn’t been to the HR building since orientation on her first day. 

Brooke led her into the room where park orientation was held. Instead of there being rows of chairs, there was a table with two office chairs on either side. A woman who looked like she shopped exclusively in the clearance section of TJ Maxx with a tall stack of papers in front of her was sitting on one side.

“Do you want me to stay?” Brooke offered.

“Yes, please,” Crystal whispered as she sat across from the woman.

“You must be Crystal,” the woman began. “I’m Monique. Please, sit.”

Crystal pursed her lips and didn’t say anything. Brooke, who was sitting next to her rubbed her back in reassurance. “Yes.”

“Do you want to tell me what happened today?”

 _No._ “Yes, ma’am.”

“Okay. Start from the beginning. I’m just going to write what you say, okay?”

Crystal nodded. “So… I was at the game--”

“Which game?” Monique interrupted. “Sorry. You have to be as thorough as possible.”

“It’s okay. I was at the ring toss game today at like 2:30. This _woman_ and her kid come up to play, and they lose, and she gets pi--…. Mad at me and starts yelling at me like the guests normally do. Maybe I could have been a little bit warmer with my responses… Whatever. Anyway. I asked if she wanted to talk to Brooke, and she said no, she’s going to HR. I told them where it was, since it’s kind of hidden, you know? I think she thought I was being cocky or something. Next thing I know, she spits in my face.”

“What do you mean, could have been warmer in your responses?”

Crystal sighed. “I don’t know. I was nice to her like I always am. But usually I listen more? I don’t know.”

“Did you say anything with malicious intent?”

“ _What?_ No! I just… kind of wasn’t super into my responses.”

“What do you mean ‘into’?”

“I just kinda was monotone with it, I guess? Which, like, I know isn’t good, but I had a bad day and--” Crystal cut herself off as she felt tears forming. Brooke noticed immediately as she slipped her a Kleenex.

“We strive for excellent guest service here.”

“I know,” Crystal whined. “I just…”

“I think that she’s given you more than enough details, Ms. Hart,” Brooke said.

“Okay, okay. Can I just have you write everything you just told me?” She slid Crystal the stack of papers.

The sheer amount of paperwork was massive. There were so many spots to initial and sign that by the time she got to writing her statement, she felt like she couldn’t write anymore.

Monique rose. “I’ll leave you two to it. Just leave the statement when you’re done.”

“Crystal, hey, you’re okay. It’s okay. It’s a lot, but just write everything that happened. You don’t have to say that you weren’t as nice as you could be. I’m sure you were kind like you always are. Just write it as detailed as you can, okay?” Brooke’s tone comforted Crystal as she began to write. 

By the time Crystal finished writing her statement, she’d filled nearly all the lines on the paper. After signing her name one last time, she dramatically threw the pen down and stretched.

“Can we go back yet?” Crystal asked.

“Not quite yet,” Brooke said as she led Crystal to the back of the HR building.

“Why not?” she whined.

Wordlessly, Brooke led Crystal into a room she had to scan her badge to enter. The lights flickered a few times before coming in to reveal a breakroom that looked like it hadn’t been renovated since the park opened back in the eighties.

“You, my dear, need some ice cream.” Brooke went to the freezer and pulled out one of the overpriced ice cream bars that were sold to guests, which Crystal gratefully took.

“You’re the best,” Crystal said as she took a bite.

When she made it back to her game booth, Crystal was convinced her day was going to be better. If nothing else, she got to take a break for an hour and eat ice cream. It was going to be a good rest of the day, or so she thought.

On her second break, Crystal went into the restroom. As she locked the stall door, she heard a group enter. It was at least three people judging by the voices she could hear.

“Anyway yeah,” one of the voices began. “Gigi’s gotta hate her by this point. Those were some nice ass shoes she was wearing.”

“I thought they already hated each other? They never are with each other anymore. They were together so much,” a second voice said.

A third voice spoke up. “Yeah it was weird as fuck they were together so much you’d think they were dating or something.”

“I don’t know,” the second voice continued. “Either way, I’m glad Gigi’s not friends with her anymore. She’s annoying as fuck.”

“Right? The bitch doesn’t stop crying ever.” the first voice agreed. “Plus what’s up with her makeup? Sweetheart, the circus isn’t in town until next month.”

The other two laughed.

Of _course_ her day wasn’t going to improve. Why would it? She knew that she shouldn’t let people’s words get to her. Crystal was used to being picked on for being eccentric. But with the day she’d already had, Crystal had enough.

Crystal forcefully slammed the stall door open. She didn’t even know the three girls, but vaguely recognized them as being in Dahlia’s gang. They were all standing in front of the sink fixing their makeup and hair. Crystal body checked one of the girls to get to the sink.

“What do you think you’re doing?” the girl jeered.

“Really? You’re going to talk all that shit about me and not even get the fuck out of my way? Next time you’ve got some shit to say, say it to my face, you cowards.”

When she got back from her break, she was visibly shaken. When Brooke made her rounds to check on everyone, she noticed just how upset Crystal looked. “Are you okay?”

Crystal shook her head.

“Today’s just not your day, is it, honey?”

“Nope.”

“Well,” Brooke began. “We’re overstaffed right now. Do you want to go home?”

This was music to Crystal’s ears. “Absolutely.”

“Go clock out. I’ll take care of it.”

In Crystal’s relief of leaving the hellhole that was work, she forgot all about meeting Gigi.

Gigi checked the time on her phone. It was 8:10. Five more minutes. She’d wait five minutes to see if Crystal would show. Gigi decided to not text Crystal, and decided that if she wanted to show up, she’d be there. 

Five more minutes passed. As Gigi looked around The Boardwalk, there was no bright red hair to be seen. Maybe she just got held up. Gigi decided to give it another ten minutes, before giving up and defeatedly walking back to her Jeep. 

_Fuck you, Crystal._

Later that night, Gigi laid on her bed staring up at the ceiling wondering how she could let Crystal play with her emotions so much. 

Just as she was about to wallow in her self-pity some more, her phone buzzed, notifying her that Jan was calling on Facetime.

“Hey, gorg!” Jan greeted, as she was lying in bed with Jackie.

“Hey guys,” Gigi said glumly.

“How’d it go?” Jackie asked.

“It… didn’t.”

Jan’s eyes widened. “She didn’t show up?”

Gigi shook her head as she felt herself starting to cry. “I’m so stupid.”

“Listen here, Gigi,” Jan began. “You are not stupid.”

“Did you text her?” Jackie asked.

“No, because I figured that if she really wanted to see me, I shouldn’t have to remind her,” Gigi explained. “But why do you think she didn’t want to see me?”

“I don’t know, Gigi,” Jan said. “Who knows what’s going on in that weird little brain of hers.”

Gigi plopped face down on her pillow as she screeched. “Fuck her. If she doesn’t want to talk to me, then it’s her loss. I don’t even care anymore.”

“You have to do what’s best for you,” Jackie said.

An alert informed Gigi she got a text. From Crystal.

“Fuck. It’s her,” Gigi squeaked.

“What did you say about not caring anymore?” Jan teased.

_oh my god gigi i am so sorry you have no idea holy shit i had the worst day of my life. someone spit on me and i had to file a report and then these girls were talking about me and literally everything was terrible today to the point that my supervisor let me go home early and i came home and i fell right asleep and i just woke up like ten minutes ago and i feel terrible and you probably don’t want ot talk to me but oh my god gigi please im so sorry please please please talk to me_

Gigi went back to the call as she reread the text. “And the impressive part is there was not a single punctuation mark in that entire text, and only one typo.”

“Wow,” Jackie said. “What are you going to do?”

“What should I do?”

Jan shrugged. “What do you think feels right?”

“I really still lo… like her a lot. As a friend,” Gigi managed ro recover smoothly. “I don’t really want to ruin that.”

“Then tell her that,” Jan suggested.

Gigi carefully composed her response.

_Wow that sounds…. terrible. Im really sorry that happened to you :(( I’m definitely still down to talk. Same place and time tomorrow?_

Crystal texted back immediately.

_ill be there._

After Jan hung up, she rested her head on Jackie.

“We’re good friends,” she said confidently.

“We are,” Jackie said as she kissed Jan’s cheek.

“I feel bad for them though.”

“I do too,” Jackie agreed.

“This feel selfish to say,” Jan began, “but even though they’re having a bad time, this is probably one of the best summers I’ve had in a while.”

Jackie smiled. “Do I have anything to do with that?”

“Baby, you have everything to do with it.” Jan snuggled closer to Jackie.

“Hey, Jan?” Jackie began nervously.

“Yes, Jackie?”

“I have to talk to you about something.”

Immediately, tears began to well in Jan’s eyes. “Do you not want to do this anymore?”

“What? No!”

“Then what?” Jan was near hysterics.

“Jan… This has been the best summer I’ve had in a while, too. And you’re the reason for that. Every second we spend together is the happiest I’ve been in a very long time. I spent so much time in high school planning the next step, but when I’m with you I live in the moment. I stop worrying.” 

Jan didn’t say anything, so Jackie continued. “I know that we had a rocky start, and every day I regret that. I just want you to know that I’m ready.”

Jan looked up at Jackie. “Ready for what?”

Jackie was fairly certain that Jan knew exactly what Jackie meant. “Jan. I’m asking you to be my girlfriend.”

Jan remained silent.

“Jan?”

“Shh…” Jan closed her eyes and raised her hand in front of Jackie’s face.

Jackie raised an eyebrow. “Did you just shush me?”

“I want to remember this.”

“Remember… what?”

“I want to remember the second I became your girlfriend,” Jan said smiling.

“God, you’re dramatic, honey,” Jackie said rolling her eyes.

“You love it,” Jan teased.

The next day at work, Gigi couldn’t focus on anything. She desperately wanted for her shift to be over so that things could be right again. 

Luckily for her, the park was busy since it was a weekend, and it had rained all day, so guests were taking shelter in the store which kept her busy. Gigi couldn’t sell overpriced plastic ponchos fast enough. She was so focused on meeting Crystal that a woman yelling at her for how cheaply made the ponchos were didn’t even register.

When it was time for Gigi to clock out, she couldn’t run fast enough. Quickly, she changed into whatever t-shirt and shorts she had in her work bag before making her way to The Boardwalk. 

Gigi was surprised that she beat Crystal there, considering Crystal worked right next to the Ferris wheel. She tried to not think about it too much as she took a seat on a nearby bench. To pass the time, she anxiously bounced her knee up and down as she scrolled through social media. After what seemed like hours, she finally saw Crystal approach her.

Since it had just stopped raining and the outdoor rides had just started running again, there was no wait. As they stepped on the platform, Crystal said, “After you, my love.”

Gigi took a deep breath as she sat on the damp cabin of the Ferris wheel. Before Gigi could even fully sit down, words poured out of Crystal’s mouth so quickly she barely understood what she was saying. 

“Gigi, I am so sorry. I didn’t mean to ruin your shoes… I know they were your favorite. I’m so embarrassed.”

“They’re just a pair of shoes, Crystal. Don’t worry about it.”

“Really?” 

“Yes. Also, I’m really sorry that people are giving you such a hard time about it. Don’t listen to Dahlia or her little clique. They think they’re hot shit but everyone in Sales hates them. Even Jan won’t talk to them.”

“Damn. They must be bad considering that Jan would talk to a wall… Anyway, thanks Gigi. I’ll try. I don’t know what their problem is.”

Gigi shrugged and repeated, “Like I said, they think they’re hot shit.”

The two girls sat in an awkward silence as Gigi tapped her fingers against her thigh. Gigi hoped to God that Crystal would speak up before she did.

“About National Roller Coaster Day…” Crystal began. “Me going with Widow and Heidi instead of you guys wasn’t because I wanted to hurt your guys’ feelings or didn’t want to hang out with you. I miss you guys a lot. Anyway, I legitimately had no plans of going because Ryan was being needy. But, Widow showed up on my doorstep sobbing since her boyfriend broke up with her. I asked if going to the after-hours thing would cheer her up and she said it would. I made up some dumb excuse to Ryan and went with Widow and met up with Heidi. I was thinking about texting Jan that but I felt like it’d be weird to text her that, and I figured we wouldn’t run into each other, anyway.”

“And then we did.”

“And then we did,” Crystal sighed. “Gigi, please know there was no malicious intent with that one. I miss spending time with you.”

Gigi also sighed. “I miss our car rides.”

“No one else I know will listen to me sing One Direction the way you do.”

“I miss your coffee-making abilities,” Gigi admitted.

“We had some great times earlier in the season. But I had to go and ruin it. All of it.” Gigi didn’t say anything and let Crystal continue. “I should have never used any of what you told me against you. I don’t know why I did it.”

“You were pissed and said whatever came into your mind.”

Crystal sighed. “It’s still no excuse. I said some awful shit.”

“You did. I probably shouldn’t have insulted your boyfriend,” Gigi admitted.

Crystal sighed as tears formed in her eyes. “It’s… complicated.”

“I can’t even imagine,” Gigi said sympathetically as she looked at Crystal’s arm that had a bruise identical to the one Gigi found. “I know that you didn’t mean it. We all say stupid shit when we’re upset about stuff. Crystal, you don’t have a mean bone in your body. I hate seeing you this sad.”

“I feel like I’m such a bad person,” Crystal said, wiping her eyes.

“My mom told me this a while ago and it stuck. Crystal, bad people don’t think they’re bad people, and they sure as hell don’t try to become better people.”

“Your mom’s a smart lady.”

“She’s been through hell and back, that’s for sure.”

As the conversation dipped into another lull, the Ferris wheel reached the top. Admiring the cotton candy sky, Gigi thought long and hard about what she wanted to say next. She decided if she and Crystal were going to make their friendship work, everything had to be on the table. 

Well, maybe not everything. Crystal didn’t have to know she was in love with her. But, Gigi figured Crystal should at least know the part of her she was hiding. 

Slowly, the Ferris wheel reached the platform, and before Gigi could speak up, Crystal stepped out and held out her hand to help Gigi get out.

_Shit._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Follow me on tumblr @themetaluna


	10. epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> On the last day of the operating season, Gigi realizes she’s running out of time to tell Crystal things she needs to get off of her chest. Jaida comes to terms with starting the next chapter of her life, and Nicky has news that’ll shake their friend group. Thankfully, they have the employee appreciation day to say what they need to say. Hopefully.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We've reached the end, kids! Thank you all so much for your support. 
> 
> Also a huge thank you to Juno for beta reading, and thank you to everyone who read this and stuck with me while writing this pure self-indulgence (also if y’all want to know which stories actually happened to me and my friends let me know, lol)

Once Gigi and Crystal made up, it was like they’d never fought in the first place. Gigi was back to giving Crystal rides to work every day. Riding with someone else in the car while drinking coffee and listening to music was a much better way to start the day rather than spending it alone lost in your thoughts. Just as before, Gigi loved to watch how blissful Crystal was singing along to the likes of Harry Styles and Zayn Malik.

Except, Gigi couldn’t help but feel as though something was missing. She knew exactly what it was. 

Although at first, Gigi was hesitant to trust Crystal with secrets, once their friendship blossomed again, she felt comfortable once more. All Gigi wanted was to tell Crystal that she was gay, but there was never an opportunity. The last thing she wanted to do was to walk up to Crystal and scream it in her face. But, with the operating season coming to a close, it seemed like she was almost out of options.

“Can you believe it? It’s the last day of the Paradise Isle 2020 operating season!” Jan squealed, wrapping Jaida in a side hug as everyone crowded at a table in the breakroom.

Jackie hugged Jaida on the other side. “How does it feel ending this chapter? Four years of your life.”

“Stop,” Jaida said, plugging her ears. “As much shit as I give this place, I’m going to miss this. By 'this,' I mean all of you. Not getting yelled at by forty-something white women.”

“But you’re going to law school!” Gigi exclaimed.

“Just think about the smoking hot trophy wife you’re going to have one day!” Nicky joked.

The group all looked at Nicky. While they all agreed that Jaida and Nicky ending their fling was for the best, it was clear that spark hadn’t gone away. Everyone knew that deep down, part of Nicky wished she would get to be the trophy wife.

“Hell, no,” Jaida laughed. “My woman is going to work for her keep.”

Crystal, who had just become reacquainted with the group, felt slightly awkward speaking up. “That’s so exciting. I’m so proud of you.”

“Thanks, y’all. Don’t forget, it’s Heidi’s last year, too.”

Crystal exhaled with a sad smile. “You don’t have to remind me.”

“You guys got really close, didn’t you?” Jackie asked.

Everyone could tell Crystal already felt emotional. “Without her and Brooke, I probably would have exploded from anxiety.”

“Heidi! Come over here!” Jaida hollered.

“I’m coming!’ Heidi screeched.

Jaida embraced Heidi. “We started at the same time, and now we’re ending at the same time.”

“Oh, don’t remind me. I’ve been stuck with you for four terrible summers,” Heidi said jokingly clutching at invisible pearls. “Real talk though, I’m a lot more emotional than I thought I would be.”

“Heidi,” Crystal began. “I just wanted to thank you.”

“For what?”

Crystal cleared her throat, trying to not let her emotions get to her. “You kept me sane this entire summer. I don’t know how I would have survived.”

“Don’t thank me, thank Brooke,” Heidi said.

“No, it’s you, too…” Heidi shook her head. “Heidi, take the damn compliment!”

Heidi rolled her eyes. “Okay, Miss Crystal.”

Heidi was right, Crystal had a lot of things to thank Brooke for. She wanted nothing more than to go thank her for everything, and had her opportunity when Brooke was checking on her hosts. 

“Crystal, you were such a great addition to the team this year,” Brooke said as she grabbed Crystal’s hands reassuringly.

Tears already began to form.

“There it is,” Brooke laughed.

“I just wanted to thank you for everything that you’ve done. I probably would have quit my very first day if it wasn’t for you being there to comfort me. Thank you for always being there for me, and letting me cry, and always making sure my makeup looked okay after.”

“Anytime. Are you planning on coming back next season?” Brooke asked.

Crystal nodded. “I genuinely enjoyed working here. Even if I cried all the time.”

Brooke laughed. “Good to know.”

For her last day, Jaida was team lead, as she normally was. As she walked around with her clipboard with the break chart, she had her oversized sunglasses on. While it was Paradise Isle dress code to not wear sunglasses inside, everyone knew why she was wearing them. Since her management loved her, she got away with basically anything she wanted.

Jaida had fanaticized about her last day at the Isle since the end of her first summer. Now that it was finally here, she was overwhelmed. So overwhelmed in fact, when she went to give Gigi her last break, she almost burst into tears.

“Gigi, go on your break,” Jaida instructed, her voice cracking.

“Are you okay?” Gigi raised an eyebrow.

“No.”

“Let’s go.” Grabbing Jaida’s hand, Gigi led them to the small stockroom no one ever came into.

With a sigh, Jaida took off her sunglasses, revealing she’d been crying.

“Oh, Jaida,” Gigi murmured as she wrapped her in a hug.

“I’m so stupid.”

“Four years is a lot of time, Jaida. The amount you’ve probably grown is insane.”

“Thanks, Gigi. I’m going to tell you something that you don’t know.”

“What don’t I know?” Gigi questioned.

“Nina and the rest of the supervisors asked who I think would be a good lead… I said you.”

Gigi was shocked. “Why me? Why not Jan?”

“Brita said Jan,” Jaida began. “Even if she didn’t, I wouldn’t have said Jan. Jan’s nice but I don’t think that she could put her foot down when needed. You really underestimate yourself, Gigi.”

Gigi would hardly call herself an emotional person. Although, hearing Jaida, someone that she respected highly talk to her like that made her choke up. “You’re going to do amazing things, Jaida. Thanks for being the best work mom ever.”

Jaida pulled Gigi into a hug. “I’m a better work mom than Brita?”

“Don’t tell her.”

“Not a chance,” Jaida smirked.

For the last day of the season, Jackie didn’t want to be the lead of the shift. Instead, she opted to have a normal shift in rotation instead. Toward the end of the day, Nicky and Jackie were at load one and load two, and since their panels were right across from each other, they stood across from each other for an hour. The entire time, they kept making weird faces at each other and screaming back and forth at one another. 

Jackie knew for a fact that no one played the prank on Nicky that all new people experienced. Making sure that Nicky was looking forward, Jackie hit the LAMP TEST button, which made every button on the panel, including the emergency stop, light up.

The fear on Nicky’s face made Jackie laugh. Immediately she turned pale, and looked straight to Jackie, who was stifling a laugh. At first, Nicky had no idea why Jackie thought breaking the ride somehow was funny. Once she realized what was happening, Nicky went from mortified to annoyed. As soon as she saw no guests were looking, Nicky flipped Jackie off.

“Love you, Nick!” Jackie teased.

Nicky said something in French that Jackie could only assume was a slew of swear words.

Jackie convinced the team lead to let her and Nicky go on break at the same time. When they took their place at a table, Nicky sighed.

“What’s wrong?” Jackie asked.

Nicky hesitated. “I got a call today from my mom.”

“Oh, yeah?”

Jackie didn’t know much about Nicky. Except for Jaida, Jackie and Nicky were the closest, and Jackie was almost certain Nicky confided more in her than Jaida. Even so, all Jackie knew about Nicky’s reasoning for being in the States was relating to family problems.

“Yeah,” Nicky began as she absentmindedly picked at her sandwich. “I’m moving back to France.”

This caused Jackie to almost choke on her Diet Coke. “You are?”

Nicky nodded. “Yup.”

“Is this a good thing?”

“Yes,” Nicky murmured. “I miss home.”

“I’m happy for you.” Jackie could hear the disappointment in her voice.

“I’m going to miss you all. Thank you for making a great summer.”

Jackie squeezed Nicky’s hand from across the table. “I’m so glad I got to know you.”

“Me, too,” Nicky smiled.

“When do you leave?”

“Two days from now.”

Jackie gasped. “That’s so soon.”

Nicky nodded. “I know. I don’t feel ready.”

“Well, at least you’ll have the staff appreciation day tomorrow.”

“I need you to promise me something, Jackie.”

“Of course.”

“I need you to make sure I have the best day of my life tomorrow.”

Jackie smiled. “That can be arranged.”

At the end of the night in the stockroom, everyone who closed was huddled around a cake. Nina was standing in front of everyone.

“I know I say this every single year, but this was one of the best seasons we’ve had,” Nina smiled. “Every season we say goodbye to some great Sales hosts. Is it anyone’s last season?”

Brita halfway raised her hand. “Well. I’m not sure yet. Let’s be real, probably not.”

“Well Brita, I hope you come back to us. Anyone else?”

Dahlia and the girls in her clique raised their hands. Everyone else simultaneously rolled their eyes.

“It was nice to meet you girls,” Nina mustered. “And of course, we all know we’re losing a great hostess after tonight. Jaida, it’s been an absolute pleasure getting to see you grow the past four years. Seeing you deal with the guest who tried on a swimsuit in the corner of the store your second year is one of the highlights of my career. You’re going to be a great lawyer.”

Dramatically, Jaida put her sunglasses back on. “Y’all aren’t going to see me cry. My makeup is too on point to mess it up again. Anyway, thank you all so much. I know that I give this place a lot of shit, but in all honesty, I couldn’t have asked for a better summer job. I’ve learned a lot about myself, and met some amazing friends.”

Brita squeezed Jaida’s hand. Gigi wasn’t sure if Brita and Jaida were okay with each other after the party, but it was clear they weren’t going to let a drunk makeout get in the way of a friendship.

“Oh, and an announcement! Time to announce our new team leads and trainers.”

Jaida locked eyes with Gigi and smiled.

“It’s my pleasure to announce that the newest people to our training team are… Gigi and Jan.”

Gigi managed to look surprised, and Jan, of course, burst into tears.

“Congratulations, ladies! Just a reminder, tomorrow is staff appreciation. The park will be open, and a few of the rides will be running by all of your favorite supervisors. I hope you all can make it. Anyway. Let’s dig into this cake!”

The next morning, Jaida, Nicky, Jan, Jackie, and Crystal all piled into Gigi’s jeep. After a quick trip to a drive thru, they were on their way to the park. The parking lot was almost empty, which was a rare sight.

“Looks like you’ll  _ actually  _ get a good parking spot for once,” Nicky joked.

“Right? Jesus, usually I’m all the way into the back,” Gigi said backing into a parking spot perfectly.

“Show off,” Jan scoffed.

The park was filled with employees from the Isle. Gigi always forgot just how many people it took to run the park, considering how close-knit her friend group was. Still, it was the emptiest she’d seen the park, other than on her first day of training.

“It feels so weird this empty,” Crystal said.

“What do we want to start with first, ladies?” Jaida asked.

“Up to you,” Gigi said. “It’s your la--”

Jaida held a hand up. “Stop.”

Crystal read a text on her phone. “Do you guys wanna go meet Heidi and Widow at Rushing Rapids?”

Nicky touched her hair. “But… My hair. It’s going to get soaked.  _ We’re  _ going to get soaked.”

“Suck it up, Princess! Let’s go!” Jaida said, grabbing Nicky’s hand to pull her along.

Jan, Jackie, Crystal, and Gigi all exchanged glances.

When they were far enough ahead, Gigi said, “There’s still something there.”

Crystal nodded. “Definitely.”

“It's a shame it didn't work out," Jan said. 

“Nicky said that the timing was off, and as much as it sucks, I get it,” Jackie said.

“As much as I’d love to talk about the flings of our coworkers, I’ve got rides to ride!” Jan said, dramatically running forward.

“No running!” Jackie joked using her ride attendant voice.

“Hey, bitches!” Heidi greeted them once they got to the ride.

“We’re going to get soaked,” Nicky whined.

“Let’s do it!” Widow said entering the queue.

“Shit, shit, shit,” Nicky muttered as she sat in the raft. “I hate water rides.”

“Really? You might have mentioned it a few times,” Jackie joked.

“Calm down Nicky, you’ll be fine,” Gigi said, trying to not laugh.

Sure enough, everyone did get soaked, with Nicky getting the wettest.

“I hate everyone and everything right now.”

“You’re probably just hangry at this point,” Jan said. “Let’s go find food. It’s all free today.”

“We’re going to go meet some people in The Backlands,” Widow said as she pulled everyone into a hug.

“Bye, friends!” Heidi said.

“Keep in touch, bitch!”

“I’ll need a lawyer for when I murder my rich husband, and it best be you,” Heidi joked.

Once everyone got the fried food of their choosing, they all sat at a table on The Boardwalk.

“I’m going to miss this,” Jan said. “I’m going to miss you guys. Like yeah, we’ll still keep in touch but it’s not going to be the same if we aren’t all bonding over getting yelled at about things that are vastly out of our pay grades.”

Jaida put her sunglasses on.

“Jaida, are you crying?” Jackie rubbed her back.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about. Next summer we all need to come here together,” Jaida said.

“Well…” Nicky hesitated.

“What?” Gigi asked.

“So, the other day I got a call from my mom. I’m going back to France tomorrow.”

“You’re kidding,” Jaida said, her voice cracking. 

Nicky shook her head. “I wish. I’m leaving my aunt’s tomorrow.”

“We love you,” Jackie said.

“I’m sad, but I don’t today to be a bummer. I want to have the best last day in America possible. Can we please try something?”

“What?” Crystal asked.

“Can we ride every ride in the park that’s open?”

“Good  _ Lord _ ,” Jan groaned. “For you, I will.”

By the time they made it just over the halfway point, the next ride was a spinning ride in the County Fair called Lightning Strike.

“Oh absolutely not,” Gigi said. “I did this with my sister when I was like ten and she threw up on me. Nope.”

“Even  _ I  _ can do this one Gigi,” Jan teased.

“Well imagine riding it and getting puked on. Not great. I think I’m going to sit this one out.”

“Yeah, same,” Crystal said. “I’ll wait with you.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah! I don’t like spinning either.”

“Do you wanna just walk around?” Gigi asked. “I almost feel like the fourth and fifth wheel with them, even if Nicky and Jaida aren't offically together.”

Crystal nodded. “Let’s go. I want to take some pictures at The Boardwalk.”

Gigi was many things, and taking amazing pictures of her friends was one of them. She crouched in an angle that made her legs look broken, just to get the perfect shot of Crystal holding her name badge.

“That was the game that the lady spit on me,” Crystal laughed.

“Jesus Christ.”

“I want more pictures. Can we go up there?” Crystal pointed to the Ferris wheel.

“Yeah, sure! I want to get some cute pictures of The Landing. All the lights are going to be on and it’s going to look really nice.”

Gigi felt her heartbeat fast. It was the perfect time to tell Crystal everything. If only she could get the nerve. She felt her hands shake as she tried to steady her breathing. 

After they were placed in their cabin, Gigi said, “It’s scary to think about how much is gonna change in like a month.”

“It’s exciting though. Just think about the next chapter or whatever they said at every graduation ceremony ever.”

“That’s true.”

“There’s going to be so many new people to meet, so many new relationships, it’s really exciting.”

“But you have a boyfriend…” Gigi trailed off.

“Do I? I know I have an  _ ex­­ _ -boyfriend.”

Gigi’s jaw dropped. “You dumped him?”

Crystal nodded. “I couldn’t take it anymore. He gave me the ultimatum of him or school. I thought about everything you said. I couldn’t throw it away.”

“I’m still so sorry about the way that everything came out that day an--”

Before Gigi could finish what she was saying, Crystal scooted closer to Gigi as she gently caressed her face before tenderly kissing her.

The kiss was something that Gigi had dreamed of all the time. It was better than anything she could have imagined. Crystal’s lips were soft and tasted like cherry lipgloss. As Gigi ran her hair hand through Crystal’s hair, she tried to take in every moment. It was something she’d wanted all summer and now that it was happening, it didn’t feel real.

Crystal broke the kiss. “I also broke up with him because he freaked out when I told him I was bi…”

“I didn’t know that,” Gigi said. “How did you know that I was…?”

“Gay?”

“Yeah, that.”

“Gigi, subtlety is  _ not  _ in your skillset, sorry to tell you.”

Gigi rolled her eyes before pulling Crystal into another kiss. There was audible cheering from the ground. When Crystal broke the kiss, she saw all of their friends taking pictures and giving thumbs up.

Like clockwork, Gigi and Crystal flipped them off as they continued to kiss.

“I have imagined doing that all summer,” Gigi admitted.

“You know what? Me, too.”

Crystal and Gigi were greeted with hugs when they got off the Ferris wheel.

“It’s about time!” Jan squealed.

“ _ Seriously _ !” Jackie said.

“I’m so happy for y’all,” Jaida said. “My little Gigi is all growed up.”

Gigi rolled her eyes. “Thanks, Mom.”

“I think the only ride we have left is the Ferris wheel,” Nicky said. “Can we all fit in the same cabin?”

“We’re sure as shit gonna try,” Jaida said.

Somehow, they succeeded. They were all uncomfortably shoved into a single cabin. Hands were sat on, thighs were crushed, but it didn’t matter. They were together. 

“Why did we decide to do this?” Jackie asked.

“You’re probably why I brought you all up here… I hate all of your stinkin’ guts!” Jan joked.

“Can we just never get off of this Ferris wheel and stay here forever?” Crystal asked. “I love you guys so much.”

Jaida grabbed her phone and stretched her arm as far out as she could manage and snapped a few pictures. They all looked at them together and laughed.

“We’re hot,” Jan said.

“You’re hot,” Jackie said, kissing her girlfriend.

“Ugh, you guys are so gay,” Crystal said kissing Gigi’s cheek.

“What’s going on with y’all?” Jaida asked.

Gigi and Crystal looked at each other. 

“Well we haven’t talked about it… Considering we just kissed for the first time less than twenty minutes ago... We’re going to the same college this fall. In fact, we're in the same residence hall, so we’ve got time,” Crystal said. 

“But you guys like each other obviously, right?” Nicky asked. 

“I’m so stupid for her it’s not even funny,” Gigi said as she put her head on Crystal’s shoulder.

The rest of the ride on the Ferris wheel was full of laughs, happy tears, and pictures that would be looked at for years to come. 

As they left the Ferris wheel, Jackie said, “Oh my god, Jaida, you didn’t run away crying or storm off dramatically. I’m so proud of you.”

“Yeah, it only took four years.” 

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooo this is the first fic I’ve written from start to finish, and the first fic I’ve ever written. I honestly didn’t expect anyone to read this, much less like it, much less leave comments and kudos. Y’all make my heart happy. I’m emotional to leave this universe behind, but don’t worry, I’m not done with these girls just yet ;) 
> 
> (As in I have a half-written Nicky x Jaida oneshot set five years in the future) 
> 
> Look up Stupid for you by Waterparks and think of this fic xoxo  
> -luna  
> (follow me on tumblr @themetaluna)


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